A task force charged with determining Scottsdale’s capital needs met for the first time last week as the City Council moves towards a possible general obligation bond election in the fall of 2012.
The group is seeking $40,000 from the city for a public opinion poll to determine the priorities of citizens.
The current capital plan contains more than 200 projects that would cost $572 million if implemented. Work is almost complete on projects financed with $350 million of GO bonds approved by voters in 2000.
Scottsdale voters rejected a $36.6 million bond proposal in November 2010 that the city said contained funding for the most critical efforts. The proposal included five transportation projects, two flood control efforts, and improvements to the Arizona Canal in central Maricopa County.
Wayne Ecton, a former city councilman who serves on the committee, said the group faces a daunting task in developing a bond proposal.
“The population is going to say no taxes,” Ecton said at the meeting. “That’s where we are today. The challenge of this task force is to develop a way creatively to sell it to the public.”
Scottsdale’s $600 million of GO debt is rated triple-A by Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service.
