Plano voters to consider city’s largest bond referendum in history this May

Plano will ask voters to approve $650 million in bonds for city projects in the May election. It’s the largest referendum in city history.

The $647.9 million bond referendum will be spread across seven propositions, including funds for street improvement projects, a new police headquarters, library renovations and park projects.

If all propositions are approved, the tax rate is expected to increase by 3.2 cents, equal to $224.65 in 2029 for an average home valued at $579,554, according to city documents.

Council member Anthony Ricciardelli expressed at a council meeting Monday night the need to clarify to voters how the referendum will impact taxes.

The 2029 figure is only a one-year snapshot of the cost of the projected tax rate increase in the fourth year after the bond election to the average Plano homeowner, Ricciardelli emphasized at the meeting. The debt will have to be paid back over 20 years.

“I want voters to understand the total cost that they’re signing up for,” Ricciardelli said, advocating the clarification be added to the city’s voter education materials before the May election.

The city first considered presenting a $700.7 million bond referendum to voters, almost double the city’s request in 2021.

Plano approved a $364 million bond referendum in 2021 focusing on renovating and maintaining existing assets.

Some council members expressed hesitation about the high cost during previous public meetings. After three public hearings, they scaled back the package by $50 million before voting unanimously Monday night to send the referendum to voters in a May special election.

It’s still an unprecedented ask to Plano voters.

“Plano is growing old and we need to [perform] cosmetic surgery … so that we can compete with our neighbors who are much younger,” said Mayor Pro Tem Maria Tu at Monday’s meeting. “Instead of looking at it as a cost, it’s really an investment on ourself and on our future.”

Road work, public safety and more

The city will present seven propositions.

Proposition A asks voters to consider issuing about $316.5 million in general obligation bonds for street improvements. It’s nearly half the city’s total proposed referendum.

Projects include repairing pavement, fixing bridges, improving intersections and traffic, and reconstructing roads and alleys. The city also has plans to install sidewalks, make traffic improvements and reconstruct pavement in connection to waterline replacement, city documents show.

Council member Shelby Williams said at Monday’s meeting there’s a tension between completing street improvements and managing disruptive road work in Plano. Council members agreed they hear resident concerns both about bad roads and about too much road construction.

“It’s obvious that our infrastructure needs the work, but it’s also become a burden to our people,” Williams said. “I would like to explore creative ways to… mitigate or minimize the disruption to our folks while still accelerating the pace of work.”

Proposition B asks for about $155.2 million for a new police headquarters and public safety communications center, which would house Plano’s 911 dispatch.

The headquarters at the northwest corner of Alma Drive and West Park Boulevard would replace the current facility, which is more than half a century old, as well as smaller police facilities servicing East Plano.

Proposition C asks for $51 million to rebuild the city’s 34-year-old police training center at 4912 14th St.

Proposition D asks for about $37.5 million to go toward three fire station projects.

The first is a 15,000-square-foot addition to Fire Station No. 14 at the northwest corner of Alma Drive and W. Park Boulevard. The addition will address increasing call volume and reduce response times, according to city documents. The second project is remodeling Fire Station No. 8 at 4621 Hedgecoxe Road, and the third is procuring the land and designing a replacement for Fire Station No. 3 at 3520 Sherrye Dr.

Proposition E asks voters to consider about $45 million for a new fleet maintenance building with more service bays for the Public Works Department to maintain the city’s growing fleet.

Proposition F is for nearly $1.9 million to remodel Schimelpfenig Library at…