Lewiston City Councilors approved the initial reading of a $104.9 million fiscal year 2022 budget during last (Mon) night’s meeting.
The city’s normal operating budget is around $60 million, but the higher budget is partly the result of money resulting from the American Rescue Plan Act. Much of the new funding will be used for street repairs and other infrastructure projects.
Additionally, the council gave initial approval of a 5.25 percent increase to water rates, a 3.5 percent increase to wastewater rates and a 3 percent increase to sanitation rates.
In other city business: councilors gave former Lewiston restaurateur Praveen Khurana another 44 days to do something about the burned-out shell of the Emperor of India King Thai restaurant that has been an eye sore along Main Street since a fire destroyed it in December 2019.
Councilor John Bradbury also asked if it may be time to readdress a city mask mandate to stem the spread of the delta strain of COVID-19, which has caused a sharp increase in cases in the health district over the last couple of weeks. Councilors said they would like an update from local public health officials before making any decisions on the controversial move. (Lewiston Tribune)
