The City Council’s Tuesday vote to postpone the State Street redesign project added fuel to the year-old debate between downtown beautification and fiscal responsibility.

Faced with the task of reconsidering an earlier decision to begin soliciting construction drawings, the council instead voted to halt the plan’s process, raising questions about when, and if, the renovation project will begin.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he is confident the council will vote to resume the process once a new resolution is introduced that would provide answers to some council members’ concerns about the project’s financial implications.

Jeff Price, owner of House of Wisconsin Cheese, 107 State St., said because several downtown maintenance decisions were made with the redesign plan in the works, the current state of the street needs to be addressed.

He noted that vandalized bus shelters, crumbling curbs and cracked sidewalks — like the one outside his business — need repair if the project does not continue as planned.

“For three years, the city has said, ‘No, we’re not going to put money into fixing [the street],'” Price said. “But I expect a crew out in front of my store immediately.”

Ross Johnson, owner of State Street Brats, 603 State St., said he is disappointed with the council’s action, and thinks the council did a disservice to both the citizens of Madison and the city’s planning department by postponing the process.

“Progress would have benefited the retailers,” Johnson said. “It also would have made [the street] a better environment for not only Madison but for the state of Wisconsin. I hope the aldermen will change their minds.”

Members of the council who sided against soliciting construction proposals said the financial aspect of the project is what drove the decision.

Ald. Todd Jarrell, District 8, said members of the council, including himself, are concerned about the city’s financial priorities. He said other streets in the city deserve repair more than State Street, and city issues like affordable housing deserve attention.

“It’s all about how we want to spend money,” Jarrell said.

Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, led the reconsideration at Tuesday’s meeting. She cited a potential multi-million dollar cut in the city’s budget as grounds for delaying the project.

“If we have to be cutting $16 million, this is not the time to be proceeding with a project of this magnitude,” Konkel said.

But Mayor Sue Bauman said Wednesday that while Tuesday’s decision has slowed the process down, the project is by no means dead. She said she disapproved of the council’s action, but noted the project will only end if the council does not adopt the current design proposal.

However, Bauman said at this point she thinks the council will vote to accept the design plan in the coming months.