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Bond Election
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the bond projects?
Over the last year, a citizen committee appointed by the mayor
worked with city staff to identify capital projects that may require
bonds over the next fifteen years. The projects cover a broad range
of improvements, including public safety facilities; operational
facility improvements; street and traffic control improvements;
parks and trails; and storm water and flood protection. There are
three specific ballot questions to approve funding for different
project groups.
What will I see on the Bond Election Ballot?
The Bond Election Ballot will contain three bond questions, each of
which allows voters to decide whether or not to authorize the city
to make improvements in a specific area (such as street and
drainage projects).
Bond Question
Summaries
Question 1 – Streets, Bridges,
Traffic Control, Transportation and Drainage Bonds ($277 million)
These bonds will provide funding to enable the city to build and
improve Peoria’s streets. With this bonding authority, the city would
improve and widen existing roadways, build new roads, perform
reconstruction and overlay upgrades to existing streets, install
signage and traffic control signals, provide enhanced drainage to
mitigate flooding of city streets and safely meet the transportation
needs of Peoria.
Question 2 – Public Safety,
Technology and Municipal Operation Bonds ($60 million) These bonds
will provide funding to enable the city to build and upgrade
municipal facilities that include, but are not limited to, the
construction of fire station and northern police precinct
facilities; replacement of the city’s existing asset management
system; improvements and renovations to Peoria’s main library,
community center, and other municipal facilities; and land
acquisition for a future facility to improve service in the central
and northern areas of the city.
Question 3 – Parks, Recreation, and
Trails Bonds ($41 million) These bonds will provide funding to
enable the city to acquire land, build parks and develop trails.
This bond question provides for a community park, the acquisition of
land for a future community park and to create recreational trails
in Peoria’s natural river corridors.
What are bonds?
Bonds are a common method used by cities to finance major capital
projects. Individuals, insurance companies, pension plans, and other
investors purchase the city’s bonds providing the city money to pay
for the capital projects. It is through bond financing that the
city can build streets, libraries, and parks and recreation
facilities to serve the community today and into the future.
Why do we need a bond election?
Both the Arizona State Constitution and the City of Peoria Charter
require approval of the voters before issuing bonds. The Arizona
State Constitution states that a city “cannot issue debt without
assent of majority of property taxpayers.”
How are bonds repaid?
General obligation bonds (that fund general construction projects
such as fire stations, streetlights, and parks) are repaid through
the city’s secondary property tax. This bond election has been
designed so that it will not require an increase in the current
secondary property tax rate of $1.25 per $100 of assessed valuation
– general obligation bonds will be repaid under the current property
tax structure.
How were these projects selected?
Citizens from the community were appointed to the Citizens Bond
Committee by the mayor and City Council in October 2007 to review,
prioritize, suggest and eventually recommend the bond projects going
before the city’s voters. This committee, assisted by city staff,
worked for several months to identify necessary future projects that
will require bond funding and voter approval. The Peoria City
Council accepted the committee’s recommendations in May 2008 and
directed that a City Bond Election be held in November 2008.
If I vote yes, will my taxes go up?
No. The Citizens Bond Committee received some general guidance from
the City Council in advance to make it clear that the total dollar
amount proposed for any bond financing had to be supportable
without increasing the city’s current property tax rate (which has
not been raised in more than ten years). The Citizens Bond Committee
included in their recommendations to City Council a note that the
bonds only be sold if the city’s tax rates do not increase. The City
Council has pledged that this tax rate will not be increased to pay
off these bonds.
How can $378 million in projects be supported
without a tax increase?
The projects are staged over time in such a way that the secondary
property tax rate can be maintained. This is done by issuing debt
for new projects only as existing debt is paid off and as new
residents and businesses increase the tax base.
If the bonds are approved, how soon will
construction on the projects begin?
The bond projects included in this election are part of the city’s
10-year Capital Improvement Plan. A few may begin construction soon,
but most of the projects requiring approval fall into the five- to
15-year time frame.
What will happen if this bond package does not pass?
Forty percent of the city’s capital program is supported by voter
approved bonds that are paid for over twenty years or more. If the
bond program fails to be approved by the voters, the city’s capital
program will be significantly reduced. The city’s improvements in
such areas as roads and drainage projects would essentially cease
once currently authorized projects are complete. Only projects that
rely on other governments or developers for funding would likely be
undertaken in the next several years.
Why are bond projects grouped together?
Over time, the scope, cost and requirements of an individual project
can change. The bond-funded projects originally identified are the
city’s current best estimate of the infrastructure needs over the
next 15 years. While individual projects may change, the project
grouping ensures that citizens will be able to approve specific
types of capital needs.
What is the Capital Improvement Program?
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a blueprint of the projects
the city intends to complete over the next 10 years. As a rule of
thumb, capital projects generally cost more than $50,000 and have a
long life expectancy.
What is in the current Capital Improvement Program?
Peoria’s current CIP includes hundreds of projects such as street
and traffic signal construction; drainage improvements; streets;
facilities relating to sanitation; public safety operations; parks
and recreation; and water and wastewater treatment facilities and
transmission lines.
How do bonds affect the Capital Improvement Plan?
Many projects included in the CIP cannot go forward until they are
included in a bond financing package approved by the voters.
What was Peoria like at the last bond election (population,
etc.)? How does this compare to current figures?
Peoria’s last bond election was held in May 2005. The city’s
population was about 138,000.
The city’s population at the beginning of 2008 is estimated at
nearly 160,000.
When did Peoria last hold a bond election?
What kinds of bond-financed projects have
been completed in the past?
The most recent City of Peoria Bond Elections were held in 2000 and
2005.
Some of the projects funded through these voter-approved bonds
include:
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Community Park #2
($9.4 million)
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Sunrise Mountain
High School Pool & Family Center ($2.8 million)
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Two Fire Stations in
South Peoria ($5.6 million)
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Pyramid Peak Water
Treatment Plant – Phase 2 ($14 million)
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Beardsley Water
Reclamation Facility – Phases 3 and 4 ($26.3 million)
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Rio Vista Park,
Phase II ($4 million)
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Happy Valley Road
from Lake Pleasant Parkway to 67th Avenue ($20.4 million)
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Two Fire Stations in
North Peoria ($7.6)
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Design and
Construction of the North Branch Library ($1.5 million)
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Water Distribution
Lines ($33 million)
I’ve heard about 6% and 20% bonds, and general
obligation bonds – what are the
differences?
There are different types of bonds that can be issued. General
Obligation (G.O.) bonds are a common method used to raise revenues
for large-scale municipal projects. The G.O. bonds are guaranteed by
the full faith and taxing power of the city. In Peoria, these bonds
are repaid from the secondary property tax collection. The amount of
G.O. debt that the City of Peoria can incur is limited by the state
constitution. The constitution states that a municipality cannot
incur a debt exceeding 6 percent of the total assessed valuation of
the city for municipal facilities projects. However, additional debt
of up to 20 percent can be issued for constructing streets, sewers,
public safety, fire and law enforcement facilities, park and
recreational facilities, and for open space.
When will the city need another bond election?
Many of the projects identified in this bond election are scheduled
for completion by 2023. However, it is anticipated that in another five years, citizens will be asked to consider additional projects
so the city can continue to plan and adjust the CIP to reflect the
growth and changing needs of the city into the future with a similar
election.
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