There are few things that are as common to everyone who lives in a community that is the streets we drive on. City Engineer Jay Koch told the Marshalltown City Council last night that 42 percent of the city streets are in need of some kind of reconstruction. The City currently budgets three million dollars a year for street work. Koch illustrated to the Council that it could take much more than that over the next ten years to make a difference.

That discussion led to another discussion by the Council on raising the City’s debt limit above the current 60 percent to help pay for continued improvements, not just for the streets, but overall. A resolution to raise that ceiling to 75 percent will be discussed at the next Council meeting.