CHICAGO — Voters in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan were in the mood to say yes Tuesday, approving bond issues for a new hospital in Indianapolis, a capital improvement plan for Detroit Public Schools, and a measure allowing casinos to set up shop in Ohio’s four largest cities.
In Michigan, voters approved just over 85% of all bond issues for a total of $702.6 million of new borrowing, according to data compiled by Ipreo and The Bond Buyer. Indiana voters approved three of the four bond issues appearing on ballots for a total of $825.4 million. In Ohio — where less than half the bond proposals passed — voters approved a total of $495.7 million in borrowing.
Ohio also won approval to issue $200 million in general obligation bonds to pay for bonuses of up to $1,000 for veterans of recent wars.
Voters in Detroit re-elected Mayor Dave Bing by a margin of 58% over challenger Tom Barrow in an election that many considered the city’s most important in years.
“Together we can now put Detroit back on the right path,” Bing told reporters at a victory party in downtown Detroit Tuesday night. “I see progress and I know we are headed in the right direction.
Voters also elected five new members to the nine-member Detroit City Council, including a new council president, Fox news anchor Charles Pugh. Pugh will replace long-time council President Ken Cockrel Jr. who served as interim mayor last year after former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned.
By a margin of 72%, voters approved a measure to amend the Detroit charter to elect the council by district starting in 2013. Council members are currently elected at-large.
Capping a months-long campaign by school officials, voters approved a $500.5 million bond issue for the cash-strapped Detroit school district. DPS will use the money to finance a capital plan that officials say is key to stemming population loss and keeping its schools competitive.
Robert Bobb, the district’s emergency financial manager who took over earlier this year, agreed last week to stay on for at least another year to oversee the bond sale and use of its proceeds.
“In a city where we don’t have a $500 million capital project on the drawing board, I think this is good,” Bobb was quoted as saying in local media reports.
The bond issue is expected to include $246 million of tax-credit qualified school construction loan bonds and $256 million of direct-subsidy Build America Bonds. The debt would be repaid by extending a current bond repayment levy by six years, to 2039.
Ohio voters proved that the fifth time is a charm for gaming expansion efforts. After defeating similar measures four times over the last 19 years, voters Tuesday approved by a margin of 53% a measure that will amend the state constitution to allow four casinos to be located in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo.
The casinos will be run by a partnership between Penn National Gaming Inc., which owns casinos and racetracks in several states, and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.
“Let’s start lighting it up like Las Vegas,” Gilbert told the Associated Press Tuesday night as victory appeared imminent.
The approval was widely seen as a response to the state’s ailing economy and high unemployment rate. Advocates promised the measure would create up to 34,000 new jobs and have an $11 billion impact on the state’s economy over the next five years.
Gov. Ted Strickland said he was disappointed with the outcome.
“While I am personally disappointed, I understand why Ohioans, who are struggling under the weight of this global recession, were willing to give this proposal a chance,” he said in a statement.
The amendment imposes a 33% tax rate on gross casino profits, money that will be distributed to local governments — counties, cities, and school districts — across the state based on population. The tax is expected to generate roughly $650 million annually for local governments.
In addition the state will get $200 million from the sale of four $50 million casino licenses.
Immediately after the election, state and local officials who opposed the amendment said they would push for changes. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman — the only mayor of the four host cities to oppose the measure — urged lawmakers to craft a new amendment for next year’s ballot that would raise the tax rate and let cities regulate casino locations and operations.
The casinos are expected to be up and running by 2012.
In Indiana, voters in Marion County overwhelmingly approved a $701 million revenue bond issue that will finance a $754 million replacement campus for Wishard Health Services, one of the largest safety-net health care systems in the country. Advocates promised no new taxes would be raised to pay for the bonds. The new 1.2-million-square-foot campus will be built on the Indiana University-Purdue University campus in Indianapolis.
“It’s important to note that the construction of the new hospital will create more than 4,400 jobs, maybe more over the course of the project,” said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. “This means new work for many of our hard-working citizens who will put their training and expertise into building this great new facility.
