IRVING – Registered voters in Irving will be able to voice their opinion in the May 2 bond election on how the city should prioritize spending for capital projects.
Twelve propositions will be on the ballot, totaling $563.4 million in spending. Categories such as street improvements, public safety and parks will be listed. The ballot will also have proposed funds that would pay for building upgrades, a library and a replacement roof for the leaking one at the Irving Arts Center.
“The needs for infrastructure spending in our city are tremendous,” Mark Cronenwett, chairman of the citizen bond task force committee, told the Irving City Council. “There’s been a lot of deferral that has been going on, deferred maintenance and construction that needs to be addressed.”
Councilmember William David Palmer said he was happy the projects were split into 12 different propositions because people don't always agree with all the propositions in a plan.
“It’s not an all-or-nothing vote this time,” he said.
The capital projects are expected to be spread over the course of 14 years, but the results of the election will determine which projects residents are in favor of. The City Council will determine the budget and how much to issues in bonds. This budget process will help with the city's property tax rate as well.
Jeff Litchfield, Irving's chief financial officer, said he didn't expect a change in the total tax rate for the city, which is currently $0.5941 per $100.
“We will not sell the bonds unless we have enough money to repay them,” Litchfield said.
In August 2019, 18 citizens looked through the proposed projects and determined which were warranted. This bond committee gave recommendations on the projects in November 2019 and the City Council narrowed the list down to what will be on the May ballot.
Vice chairwoman of the bond committe Sharon Barbosa-Crain said she wants residents of Irving to know this isn't about voting to issue debt.
“They are voting to give the City Council the authority to issue debt as needed,” Barbosa-Crain said.
Barbosa-Crain has served on every Irving bond committee except for one since 1980.
“Ordinarily, committees look at future needs, five years or more into the future,” Barbosa-Crain said. “Most of the things we looked at were things that are needed very quickly.”
Projects that will be built in the future are likely to cost more than ones built in the present. But the bond committee used current prices to make cost estimates for the ballot.
“[If] you try to build a building eight years from now, it’s going to [cost] a lot more than what you are telling the voters it’s going to cost to build it,” Councilmember Dennis Webb said.
The City Council did end up using higher cost estimates for projects that will be completed in the future. The proposed projects are based on city needs, such as a new library in the city's urban center, city documents said. But on the ballot, voters will only see general projects incase needs change, Barbosa-Crain said.
Councilmember John Danish said Irving's population is nearing 250,000 and within the next decade will likely reach 300,000. Capital projects will help the city's vision, he said.
“We have to do this,” Danish said. “It’s important for our future.”
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