Glendale, Goodyear, Surprise voters approving public safety and infrastructure bonds, but not El Mirage

Voters in four West Valley cities heavily favored seven of eight public safety and infrastructure bond measures aimed at keeping up with needs in some of the fastest-growing communities in the country, after final unofficial results were released.

In Glendale, twin measures to fund street and public safety improvements won by wide margins.

Goodyear voters heavily favored a trio of measures to fund improvements to transportation, public safety and parks.

In Surprise, twin measures to improve public safety and transportation projects won by wide margins.

El Mirage's single measure to pay for public safety and other city facilities lost heavily.

Live updates after 8 p.m. Election Day: Arizona election results

Glendale

Glendale's special election ballot featured two questions: The first $82 million bond question addressed street and infrastructure improvements, while the second question asked voters to invest $78 million in building and modernizing public safety facilities.

The first bond will cover local road construction, new signage and projects to reduce congestion. Those include improvements to Bell Road, 67th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.

The second bond will include the construction of a new Police Department forensics laboratory, a new fire station near Westgate Entertainment District and improvements to the city court building.

The bonds are not expected to result in a tax rate increase.

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Helena Johnson-Bodine was a member of Glendale's Citizen Bond Election Committee, and previously voiced concerns over the presentation of the first question. As a committee member, Johnson-Bodine said she was confident about the second question but was kept in the dark about the first one.

"I felt like people did not have enough information at all," Johnson-Bodine said.

Goodyear

Goodyear's ballot had three bond questions: one for transportation, one for public safety and one for parks and recreation.

The first question asked voters to decide on a $135 million streets and transportation bond. It will improve streets, intersections, traffic signals, streetlights and underground utility lines. Bike lanes and paths also will be improved. The projects will be citywide, and specific projects will be determined once the city's Transportation Master Plan was finalized.

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The second question addressed an $80 million public safety bond. If passed, it will construct a new public safety training facility for the city's police and fire departments, as well as a new fire resource management facility that will protect firefighters from dangerous carcinogens. The bond will also fund new vehicles and equipment for the fire and public safety departments.

The third question asked voters to decide on a $17 million parks and recreation bond that will pay for building and improving parks and recreational facilities in Goodyear. Projects included funding the acquisition of additional land for bike and pedestrian paths and improvements to existing paths and trails. It will also extend the Bullard Wash trail system to Goodyear Ballpark.

Goodyear's bond programs were designed to maintain the city's current property tax rate.

Goodyear Councilmember Bill Stipp said the results of the election were consistent with what the council expected to happen. The bond committee chose the right amounts and types of projects to present to Goodyear's residents.

"I'm grateful residents trusted us enough to vote in favor of it," Stipp said. "We are going to deliver on it."

El Mirage

El Mirage's ballot had only one question, with $41.5 million bond funding projects for both public safety and city facilities; $21.5 million of the bond money would go toward public safety facilities, while $20 million would have gone toward city facilities.

The bond would have funded the construction of a new fire station in the southern part of the city. The city currently has one fire station in the northern part of the city. However, with a 142% increase in the number of calls between 2002 and 2022, the new fire station would have helped improve response times.

The bond would also have expanded the city's police station at West Cinnabar Avenue and North El Mirage Road by 5,000 square feet, or 25%. The expansion would have given employees more workspace, and the El Mirage Police Department’s Investigations Bureau also would have occupied the space.

The city would also have built a new 18,000-square-foot municipal courthouse on 1.7 acres adjacent to the new fire station.

The last project would have expanded El Mirage's City Hall at North El Mirage Road and West Cinnabar Avenue just south of the police station by 8,500 square feet, which would have addressed the expected increase in staff members over the next 20 years.

The bond measure would have increased secondary property taxes, but the rate would have varied depending on property values and the amount of bonds issued.

Surprise

Surprise had two questions on its ballot: one $66 million bond for transportation projects, and a second $34 million bond for public safety projects.

The $66 million transportation bond will focus on projects that deal with reducing traffic congestion. The projects will add lanes, improve intersections and prepare for possible future Loop 303 connections.

The second question focused on public safety projects to maintain current response times. The $34 million bond will fund a new 16,000-square-foot fire station in the northwest part of the city, which could result in faster response times throughout the city.

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It will also fund a new police substation, the first for the city, as well as the acquisition of a parcel of land in northern Surprise for a new fire station and, eventually, public safety facilities. Those include a public safety training center and training firing range.

City tax rates are not expected to increase.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or by phone at 480-259-8545. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @AlexandraHardle.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Glendale, Goodyear, Surprise voters supporting bonds; not El Mirage