The $1.9 million from the Downtown Tax Increment Financing District that the city must decide how to spend by the end of the year provides the Bloomington City Council with a dual opportunity.

It is an opportunity to speed up some projects to help the downtown area.

It is also an opportunity to demonstrate fiscal responsibility.

Let's hope the council does both.

The $1.9 million isn't exactly "new" money. It's a combination of what was expected in revenue for next year and surplus funds found through an audit of the city's TIF funds.

The bigger "surprise" is that the council must "obligate" the money by the end of this calendar year - when the TIF district ends. The city had thought they would have about a year to make that decision.

If the money isn't "obligated" - designated for a particular purpose through a contractual or similar legal obligation - by Dec. 31, the money must be declared surplus funds. In that case, it would go back to all the taxing bodies within the TIF district.

Because the money is from a TIF district, special rules apply. In short, it can only be spent on improvements and redevelopment within the district. It cannot be spent on unrelated programs, not matter how deserving.

Just because this amount of money is available - and the speed at which it must be spent - is somewhat of a surprise, that doesn't mean the city should go on a spending spree.

The money should only go to projects that are part of a specific plan already in place - giving priority to projects that are needed now, but had been delayed by a lack of available money, particularly projects that would provide immediate benefit.

Two good examples are sidewalk repairs and water main replacement. They might not be "flashy," but they are important to the future of downtown and costs will likely go up the longer they are delayed, especially when - not if - the city experiences another water main break.

Forget about purchasing and demolishing the Elks Club and Golden Rule buildings on the 300 block of West Washington Street as a "possible" downtown hotel site.

Although there has been speculation about such a hotel for years, there is nothing remotely on the table, especially given current economic conditions.

What if the smaller scale projects don't use up all of the $1.9 million? That's where fiscal responsibility comes in.

It won't be the end of the world if the city has to return part of the money for redistribution to other taxing bodies. This is not the city's money; it is the taxpayers' money.