Texas Voters to Weigh $8.7B of Bonds in November

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DALLAS - Texas voters will consider more than $8.7 billion of local bond proposals Nov. 3 while weighing another $2.5 billion for transportation funding statewide, according to final tally of ballot items.

Aug. 24 was the deadline to place proposals on the November ballot.

The measures range in size from $4.5 million for a single elementary school to a $1.6 billion for multiple schools in the Dallas Independent School District, according to totals reported by Austin-based consulting firm Strategic Partnerships Inc.

The November ballot requests are about $3.3 billion larger than those on the May ballot.

Of the $5.4 billion on the May ballot, voters approved $3.9 billion. With 93 bond issues on the ballot in May, more than 70 passed, according to SPI.

With Texas still growing while its economy is slowing, the election could indicate the voting public's level of concern about financing expansion of schools and roads.

In the energy hub of Houston, Harris County commissioners are seeking approval of $848 million of bonds for roads, parks and other projects. County commissioners note that the county has added 1 million residents since 2000.

On the statewide ballot, voters will consider Proposition 7, a constitutional amendment that would direct as much as $2.5 billion in state sales tax revenue annually to the Texas Department of Transportation. The amendment, approved by the 2015 Texas Legislature, would aid in right-of-way purchases, construction and maintenance of non-tolled highways, and make payments on general fund-backed debt that TxDOT has accumulated in the past five years.

In Dallas, DISD is seeking bond money for nine new and replacement schools, 290 additional classrooms, technology upgrades, improvements to cafeterias and science labs, and other enhancements.

The DISD board approved the 2015 tax rate during its meeting on Aug. 27.

While the rate is the same, it is expected to generate a 6.81% increase in revenue for the district due to rising property tax collections in Dallas County. The district's debt service rate will be 24.2 cents per $100 valuation. Revenue from the levy is used to pay current interest and principal payments for bonds.

In the El Paso area, the Ysleta Independent School District is asking voters to reconsider a bond proposal that was narrowly defeated last year. This year's proposal has been trimmed to $430 million from the $450 million that lost by 334 votes.

Montgomery County, Texas, is also asking voters to reconsider a measure that was defeated in 2014. The $280 million on this year's ballot is about $70 million lower than last year's proposal and does not include a controversial project that opponents argued would interfere with the small-town ambience of a Houston suburb called The Woodlands.

Montgomery County voters in the Conroe Independent School District will also consider $487 million of bonds for new construction. One third of the bond funds would go toward construction of a new, 3,000-student high school.

In Austin, Travis County Commissioners are asking voters for $287 million for a new civil and family courts complex. The bond proposal is down $4 million from the original price of $291 million.

Travis County Judge John Dietz has said the 1931 courthouse designed for a population of 77,000 can no longer serve the county's current population of more than 1 million.

Commissioners established a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone downtown to reduce the tax burden. Revenue from business in the TIRZ would go toward the courts complex and other development in the zone.

South of Austin, the Comal County Commissioners Court is asking voters to approve $76 million of bonds to build a new county jail.

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