City Council considers capital improvement projects

CASPER, Wyo. — On Tuesday, the Casper City Council unofficially agreed on its list of capital improvement projects it aims to undertake in the coming fiscal year.

The city has more than 100 projects proposed in its fiscal year 2026 capital budget, across a wide variety of municipal departments.

One of the primary capital expenditures budgeted for is the purchase of two new firetrucks. Engine No. 1 and Engine No. 5 are both a decade old, and each has incurred more than $250,000 in maintenance costs over the years. According to management analyst Pete Meyers, the cost of firetrucks has risen considerably in recent years.

The proposed capital budget also includes funding for a new cardiac monitor, with others planned to be purchased in later fiscal years.

The preliminary budget lists the cost of new fire department equipment at $1,565,000.

The FY26 budget also proposes $916,500 for new Casper Police Department equipment. City officials recommend seven marked police cars and one unmarked one, as well as a license plate reader, a microfiche machine and a light side-by-side vehicle for traffic enforcement.

The proposed budget also lists $2,188,750 for five heavy trash collection vehicles, including two side-load trucks for residential collection, two front-load trucks for commercial dumpsters and one rear-load truck for residential extra-trash collection.

The budget also proposes eight street repair projects along Bryan Evansville Road, Missouri Avenue, 2nd Street, 14th Street, the Casper Addition LAD, various crosswalks throughout the city, the Poplar Street bridge and multiple downtown alleyways.

The two biggest roads projects are on Bryan-Evansville Road and Missouri Avenue, with $2,225,000 and $2,115,170 budgeted for them, respectively. All eight projects are slated to cost $6,065,615. The Bryan-Evansville project is being funded entirely with street repair funds that were set aside from fifth-cent tax dollars. The Missouri project is being funded with roughly $900,000 of fifth-cent funding, and the rest coming from the Water Distribution Fund for the replacement of underground water lines.

The full proposed capital plan can be viewed below.