Phoenix voters asked to decide on $500M bond in November. Here's what's in it for them.
New police and fire stations. New pools, splash pads and libraries. Renovations to make city property accessible for people with disabilities. Pavement preservation and drainage improvements to combat flooding. A long-awaited Latino Cultural Center.
These are the projects at stake in Phoenix's special bond election this November.
Voters will get the chance to weigh in Nov. 7 whether the city should issue $500 million in general obligation bonds to fund new and upgraded infrastructure across the city over the next five years. It's the first time the city is seeking voter approval for a bond since 2006.
Constituents should receive information packets this week about the election, if they haven't already.
The packet includes a breakdown of the bond program, key dates voters need to know and other critical election information.
To vote in the election, residents must be registered to vote by Oct. 10. You can register at servicearizona.com, and registered voters can confirm their voter status at BeBallotReady.Vote or by calling Maricopa County at 602-506-1511.
The ballot will include four questions, asking voters to let the city sell:
$214 million in bonds for fire, police, roadway and pedestrian infrastructure projects.
$109 million in bonds for library, parks and historic preservation projects.
$114 million in bonds for education, economic development, reducing waste, resource management and arts and culture projects.
$63 million in bonds for affordable housing and senior center projects.
Approving all four questions would provide funding for a wide range of projects pertaining to public safety, libraries, economic development, affordable housing and arts and culture.
A general obligation bond is debt the city issues and pays back with interest to fund capital infrastructure in the city. Investors, oftentimes everyday people whose retirement accounts include mutual funds, buy up bonds because they are low-risk, tax-exempt investments.
The city pays off the debt with residents' secondary property taxes, though it's technically backed by the "full faith and credit" of the city. Voting yes to issue the bonds will not increase the secondary tax rate.
Here's what you need to know.
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Key voter dates, information
Oct. 2: Informational pamphlets scheduled to go out.
Oct. 10: The last day to register to vote in the election.
Oct. 11: Ballots will be mailed out and drop boxes will be made available.
Oct. 30: In-person ballot replacement voting begins.
Oct. 31: The last day to mail back your ballot.
Nov. 7: Election day. Ballots must be received by the Maricopa County Elections Department, the agency running the election, no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters can check the status of their ballot at BeBallotReady.vote.
To vote in person, bring a driver's license, tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal ID. Voters can also bring two of the following in lieu of a driver's license: a voter ID card, official election mail, utility bill, bank statement or vehicle registration from within the past 90 days.
What will the bond program pay for?
Here's a list of the specific projects within each category of funding, but if you want details on the individual projects, visit phoenix.gov/bond, or email the reporter to request additional stories.
Public safety: $132.5 million
Police Cactus Park precinct relocation: $37.3 million.
Fire Station 13 and Community Assistance Program (44th Street and Thomas Road): $21.8 million.
Fire Station 7 and Community Assistance Program (7th Avenue and Hatcher Road): $21.4 million.
Fire Station 15 and Community Assistance Program (45th Avenue and CamelbackRoad): $21.4 million.
New Fire Station 51 (51st Avenue and State Route 303): $18.6 million.
Police property management warehouse renovation: $9 million.
Maryvale Police precinct renovation: $3 million
Streets and storm drainage: $81.5 million
Pavement maintenance supplement: $22 million.
Hohokam drainage program: $19.2 million.
Vision Zero project: $17 million.
Equity-based transportation mobility project: $12.6 million.
Laveen flood mitigation project: $8.2 million.
Storm drain replacement program: $2.5 million.
Parks and recreation: $64 million
Maryvale Regional Pool and two splash pad sites: $14.4 million.
Harmon Park Regional Pool and three splash pad sites: $12.8 million.
Desert View Civic Space Phase I: $8.4 million.
South Mountain roadway safety enhancements - Phase I: $7.7 million.
Estrella Civic Space Phase I: $8.3 million.
Esteban Recreation Center: $4.5 million.
Margaret T. Hance Park: $3 million.
Telephone Pioneers of America Recreation Center: $2.2 million.
Citywide funding for minor capital projects: $1.5 million.
Mountain View Community Center Park Sports Complex: $1.2 million.
Housing, human services and homelessness: $63 million
Affordable housing property preservation: $33.2 million.
Choice Neighborhoods housing development: $21.3 million.
Cesar Chavez Senior Center: $5.8 million.
McDowell Senior Center renovation: $1.8 million.
Innovation in the affordable housing program: $1 million.
Arts and culture: $50.4 million
Latino Cultural Center: $21.6 million.
Valley Youth Theater permanent home: $14 million.
Phoenix Theatre Company American with Disabilities Act (ADA) project: $5.8 million.
Children’s Museum of Phoenix expansion: $5.4 million.
Arizona Jewish Historical Society expansion project: $2 million.
Phoenix Center for the Arts project: $1.2 million.
Cultural Facilities Critical Equipment Replacements: $385,000.
Neighborhoods and city services: $44.6 million
New branch library at Estrella Civic Space: $8.6 million.
City facility ADA improvements: $10.1 million.
Yucca branch library expansion: $10.6 million.
New branch library at Desert View Civic Space: $10.3 million.
Historic Preservation Program: $5 million.
Economic development and education: $38 million
Rio Reimagined land acquisition: $23.5 million.
Arizona State University Health Technology Center: $12 million.
Spark Area land acquisition: $2.5 million.
Environmental and sustainability: $26 million
Energy/water efficiency and renewable energy: $14 million.
Heat resiliency: $ 7.7 million.
City of Brownfields Redevelopment projects: $3 million.
Electrical vehicle charging station: $1.3 million.
How did the city decide what would get funding?
City staff drafted two lists: prioritized needs and future needs, based off input from city departments and City Manager Jeff Barton's office. All needs added up to $1.2 billion, with prioritized needs equaling $647 million and future needs equaling $505 million.
Between August and November of 2022, eight subcommittees made up of council-appointed members reviewed the needs from both lists and prioritized what should be funded now, versus what could wait until future bonds. Barton and the City Council have said they intend to ask voters to approve another bond in five years. Committee members were instructed to select projects for funding that could be reasonably completed within the next five years.
An executive committee of council-appointed members reviewed the subcommittees picks and further culled the lists to fit within the $500 million balance.
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Why was $500 million chosen?
Because general obligation bonds are paid via secondary taxes, city staff say they chose a figure that maximized opportunity without raising taxes. In other words, $500 million was the most debt the city could issue without having to raise secondary property taxes.
Phoenix voters last approved a bond request in 2006 for $880 million.
The city finished issuing most of its 2006 bonds in 2012. By that point, property values were at their lowest and "it wasn't the time to be thinking about a new GO bond," Chief Financial Officer Kathleen Gitkin told The Arizona Republic.
Then, changes in state laws reduced property tax revenue the city could collect, Gitkin said, which in turn limited how much it could borrow.
One of those state laws, for example, barred homes' taxable values from going up by more than 5% annually.
Today, the city still owes about $648 million from the projects completed under the 2006 bond program, not including interest, city spokesperson Adam Waltz said . Cities pay for projects over a period of years, much like a homeowner makes a mortgage payment.
The amount the city pays annually on those projects will drop massively between 2027 and 2028, from $126 million to $54 million.
That drop-off combined with increasing home values makes now a good time for Phoenix to take on new debt without increasing the property tax rate, Gitkin said.
Reporter Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Reach her at [email protected] or by phone at 480-476-6116.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix voters to decide $500M bond request in November election