At their meeting Tuesday evening, the Hillsboro City Council rejected bids they had received for the East Street Improvement project.

City Engineer Scott Hunt said the total estimated bid for the project was $50,000. The lowest bid that came in was $71,000. Hunt recommended that the council reject the bids, and re-bid thru a process with the Illinois Department of Transportation. He said by doing that, it would be possible to receive a bid closer to the original $50,000. The motion passed, 4-0.

After that, a separate motion was made to appropriate an additional $7,500 towards the project, based on a recommendation from IDOT. Hunt said that the funds would come out of the Motor Fuel Tax funds, so no money would be taken away from any other projects in the city. That motion also passed, 4-0.

The next Hillsboro City Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, at 7 p.m.