A New High of a Breaking $1.2B Bond Issue Headed to San Antonio Voters in May
As predicted, a new high of a breaking $1.2 billion bond issue headed to San Antonio voters in May. How many more times do we have the “Bond” election?
The answer, like clockwork, every five years, and the line of credit gets larger and larger.
How does San Antonio City Council differ from this any more than Washington D.C. does? We have bad leadership, in fact, we have no leadership, it’s like a credit card to them, so like a credit card, they start working on their “wish list.”
Express News Article:
Work began on a record $1.2 billion bond issue for San Antonio on Wednesday that will include street, drainage and facility upgrades as well as affordable housing. City Manager Erik Walsh said the discussion at a council work session was “our first on a very long, important process” leading up to the May bond election. The council will make appointments to bond issue committees Oct. 13, and the panels will begin meeting in late October.
The city routinely presents a bond issue to voters every five years to maintain and improve its infrastructure, including streets, parks and 1,165 city buildings.If the six bond issue propositions are approved in 2022, Walsh said, “our commitment to the voters is that by the time they go back to the polls for the 2027 bond program, we’ll be at 97 percent of the projects constructed or under construction.”
“This is our opportunity right now as we go into this process to improve our infrastructure, maintain our infrastructure, which is equally as critical, and add assets for amenities for a growing community over the next five-year period,” he said.The council is scheduled to approve a bond plan in January and then call for the election in mid-February. But with an estimated $6.6 billion worth of identified needs for streets, sidewalks, drainage and parks — including $2.8 billion in funding requests from the community — the officials will first have to pare down the list of projects. Proposed projects will be scored on four key criteria: connectivity, public health and safety, resiliency and equity.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the city’s practice of holding bond elections every five years to address targeted priorities has been crucial in “catching up” on deferred maintenance and unmet needs since about 2007.“We need to continue to invest in our basic infrastructure, along with facilities,” Nirenberg said.
Council members disagreed on the amount set aside, 1 percent, for public art on capital projects. Austin and Fort Worth both spend 2 percent for public art. Council members Mario Bravo and Manny Peláez supported expansion to 2 percent as a means of promoting the arts and tourism, but Councilman John Courage argued that it’s money that would better be spent helping residents in need.
“All of those other cities are wealthier than the city of San Antonio,” Courage said.Also included in the mix of projects being considered is $200 million for 45.4 miles of trails to be added to the local greenway system; upgrades at regional economic centers such as Brooks, Port San Antonio, Texas A&M University-San Antonio and the South Texas Medical Center; and improvements to facilities such as the San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Botanical Garden and Sunken Garden Theater that attract visitors from across the city.
Walsh said he is recommending six proposed propositions: Streets and sidewalks. Drainage. Parks and open spaces. Municipal facilities. Public safety facilities. Housing.A city charter change approved by voters four months ago authorized use of bond issues for housing. The city staff is recommending a $250 million proposition for housing.Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said the city needs to produce or preserve some 28,000 affordable housing units, focusing on assisting the 95,000 households in San Antonio that are “cost-burdened” — spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing expenses.
Several council members supported the housing proposal. But Councilman Clayton Perry said the city should have less money targeting housing and more for structurally “failed streets” — rated as “F streets.” Council members Bravo, Teri Castillo and Ana Sandoval also questioned whether the bond proposal will include enough for streets and drainage.The city’s record bond issue, approved by voters in 2017, is $850 million.