DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. -- Davidson County Board of Commissioners continued discussion Thursday of a proposed bond referendum for school and parks and recreation funding.
Commissioners are considering a feasibility study on the referendum, which would appear on the ballot for either the primary or general election in 2018. The board would hire a consultant to assess money that could be raised to cover the cost of several parks and recreation projects, as well as capital expenditures for the county's three school systems.
Estimates of costs associated with a feasibility study of this nature run between $13,000 and $16,000.
The total sum of the projects currently being discussed for the referendum is estimated at approximately $70-75 million. That figure includes $40 million tagged for a new sports complex. Preliminary estimates suggested the bond would represent a three-and-a-half-cent increase of the county's property tax rate.
During the county's annual budget retreat, Commissioner Fred McClure referenced referendums to help fund schools in the Oak Grove area to illustrate the success of exclusively educational measures. He cautioned the county might not be as successful in lobbying support for a combination of education and recreation, in contrast to the Oak Grove initiatives.
"It's been my experience that recreation bonds don't fare very well, at least as well as education bonds," McClure said. "When we had a bond before, it was an educational bond, and we did real well on that. But I'm not real sure about lumping these two together."
Heating and air needs for the county's three school districts were among the primary educational components to the proposed referendum. Davidson County Schools had 10 projects on the list, with eight roofing projects that totaled an estimated $10 million.
County Manager Zeb Hanner said the 2005 school bond was facilitated by the county's commitment to extensive research, which revealed its capacity for debt, what would likely pass and what would be voted down.
