After more than a decade of talking without walking, officials will finally take the first step in answering Iowa City North Siders’ call for a new fire station.

But one question still looms: Is it really the right time?

During Michael Lombardo’s short stint as city manager, any reporter interested in the new fire station would get the same recited answer from anyone on city staff: We have the funds to build it, but we don’t have the funds to staff it. The city received a grant earlier this year from the state’s I-JOBS program to pay for half of the station’s construction because of the City Council’s commitment to start construction in the near future.

While Gov. Chet Culver is scheduled to make an appearance at the Oct. 28 groundbreaking, one thing hasn’t changed: The city still lacks the money needed to operate the station.

Talks of implementing a franchise fee to staff the station have split the citizenry. Officials are considering charging MidAmerican Energy between 1 and 5 percent of its total services, which would eventually be passed down to consumers on their monthly utility bill. Councilors are suggesting a 2 percent tax, which would bring in an estimated $1.7 million to pay staff. The final vote is still weeks away, because it must go through two considerations before final passage.

The decision to start construction on what will be Iowa City’s fourth firehouse seems premature. Despite a public hearing set for Nov. 2 to receive input on the tax, it seems the councilors have already made up their minds.

“A public hearing is a requirement for something like this,” Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey said. “A public hearing is an opportunity to weigh the pros and cons, to make sure I’ve heard everything, to check and recheck my assumptions. As we do that, might there be something introduced? Perhaps.”

It seems odd the city is going to start construction on a building that it doesn’t have the resources to maintain. The groundbreaking should be contingent on whether the city has the funding to operate the building, which depends on whether the franchise tax passes. It seems like the councilors have already made their decision and the Oct. 28 ceremony is their unofficial announcement.

But what if the public shows overwhelming opposition to a fee? What if it doesn’t pass?

“There would have to be a dramatic reduction from other areas of our budget,” Bailey said, noting that the financial climate has and will continue to force the city to slash its budget.

There is no doubt whether a presentation such as this one will have meaning beyond just the start of a long-awaited project. Residents on Iowa City’s North Side have been desperately waiting for the first sign of progress. For them, the groundbreaking shows the city has not completely forgotten its role of providing public safety to its people — though it may have seemed that way for some time.

With the City Council election just around the corner, it would be appropriate for the councilors to hold off on the franchise fee vote and leave it to the new council. Discussion about the new fire station has gone on for so long that it can wait a couple more months. Just as the council deferred the search for a new city manager to the new council, so, too, should it put off the franchise-fee decision.

Both of these decisions — hiring the new manager and levying the tax — have long-term consequences for the city, and the City Council candidates have expressed a desire to have a say in both.

Before the city starts the project, officials should be certain they have the money to follow through with it. There would be nothing more disheartening to the city’s North Side than residents thinking this drawn-out controversy is finally over and then having it return to an impasse.