The DeKalb City Council Wednesday indicated street repairs as the top priority if additional funds are obtained for fiscal 1989.

City Manager Mark Stevens said he is entering this year’s deliberations without expectations of a tax increase or any reduction in services. Stevens said he did not know where the city would obtain the extra money to fund the road repairs and the other priority areas the council listed.

He said, “There are a whole lot of variables at this point and time. I have not done any forecasting.”

In a special meeting to start the budget proceedings, Mayor Greg Sparrow asked council members to list the five areas they believed needed additional funds. Sewer and storm water management tied with a balanced budget as the second highest priority behind street repairs. The next area was additional staff. The list was rounded off with no tax increase, economic development and mass transit.

The city staff agreed with the council about additional staff, listing staff as the highest priority. Stevens said such staff includes a secretary for the fire department and another police officer. Space, a comprehensive plan for the city, capital improvement projects and financial planning were the other city staff priorities.

“There’s not a lot of point talking about additional staff if we don’t (take care of) these (space needs),” Stevens said.

Stevens presented his own list in addition to the city staff. He also went along with the council by citing storm water and economic development as a priority. Risk management was listed as his first priority, but he also agreed with the council by citing mass transit as one of his later priorities.

Fourth Ward Alderwoman Rita Tewksbury and Third Ward Alderman William Hanna said south Third Street and Groves Street need immediate attention for repairs.

“The streets are so important that we’re going to have to do a lot to get funds for them,” Tewksbury said. “Most of these streets are 60 to 70 years old. You can’t expect people to live in this town and pay taxes and put up with these streets forever.”

Hanna said south Third Street is brick and has had little or no repair since it was built about 70 years ago. He said he is not surprised at the council’s priority arrangement.

He said, “We cannot live in a city where the infrastructure (needs repair). Let’s get the damn streets fixed.”

Stevens said the city now spends about $500,000 a year in road maintenance.

Sparrow said the council agreed last year not to cut staffing in the future and he does not expect a tax increase this year. He said increasing services is wise because the city has “new and expanded services we want to get into.”

“Economic development is about the only place for growth in revenues,” he said.

Sparrow said it might be smart to spend some money on economic development now because it might expand DeKalb’s tax base and save the city money in the long run. He said if the city decides to add staff, it will have to decide how such a move will benefit DeKalb in the long run.

Tewksbury questioned Sparrow’s assessment of the future. She said this idea has been presented before.

“It’s fine to look to the future, but we have to take care of what we have now,” she said.

Stevens said he will look at how much money DeKalb has available between now and March 23. The council will meet again to discuss the budget then.

“This is the preliminary step,” he said.