Question #3 - Bonding for continued infrastructure investment
One of the most important functions of local government is to create and responsibly steward public infrastructure. Our water, sewer, and electric infrastructure make city life possible, our roads and sidewalks are the foundation of our economy, and our bike path and incredible network of parks and open space create incredible recreation and nature adventures accessible throughout the City.
Caring for these assets requires sustained vigilance and investment. Yet, this hasn’t always been our approach. For example, until just a few years ago our plan for upgrading water lines was to wait for them to break – which meant that the City only worked on water lines in emergency conditions on the coldest nights of the year.
Since your overwhelming support of the Sustainable Infrastructure Bond in 2016, we have been able to prioritize reinvestment in and preventative maintenance of our public infrastructure in a strategic, prudent and sustainable manner. This second capital bond continues that level of investment in our City infrastructure, and 67% of voters need to vote in support of this bond in order for it to pass. This is the last time for the foreseeable future that the City will come forward with a major General Obligation Bond. The City needs these funds to lock in this new, responsible, and ultimately far more affordable approach to managing our treasured public infrastructure.
The School District is expected to come forward with a major bond request for a new high school this fall. We have planned for that by putting in place a Debt Policy that establishes binding guidelines on how much combined debt the City and BSD can responsibly borrow, and by reserving more than half of the total capacity for School District borrowing.
Our only other viable option would be to make cuts in services and personnel. Over the past two years, the City team has led the way fighting COVID better than perhaps any community in the country, maintaining youth summer programming when many other agencies were closed, and keeping our downtown vibrant amidst huge economic uncertainty. This tax rate increase is critical to working through this challenge without major cuts.
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