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Big-ticket bond proposals; mayoral, city council and school board races; a hotel tax increase and more are on the ballot for the May 4 elections across North Texas. Early voting is underway across the region.
Here are some of the highlights, culled from sources including public records and election guides from the League of Women Voters of Dallas and the League of Women Voters of Collin County.
• The biggest bond package in the region is Dallas' $1.25 billion proposal. The biggest buckets are $521.2 million for streets and transportation and nearly $345.3 million for parks and recreation. Voters will also decide on $43.5 million for library facilities, $75.2 million for cultural and performing arts facilities and $90 million for public safety facilities, plus $72.3 million for economic development and $26.4 million for housing.
• Fort Worth voters will decide whether to increase the city’s hotel occupancy tax, the tax hotels collect when a guest stays in a room, by 2 percentage points. The increase would boost the tax to 17%. The increase would create an estimated $9.5 million to help the city pay debt for the downtown convention center expansion project, Mike Crum, director of Fort Worth’s public events department, told city council in a January meeting. Work on the convention center expansion has ballooned from a $377 million budget in 2019 to an estimated $701 million project, due to inflation, Crum said.
“We are currently committed $95 million for phase one," he said. "It’s the $606 million that represents the nut we need to crack for phase two.”
The second phase of the convention center will demolish the existing saucer-shaped arena and build a new exhibit hall, among other additions, according to the city. Cities in Texas are allowed to increase the hotel occupancy tax rate to a maximum of 17%. Dallas’ hotel occupancy tax sits at 15%, but Austin and Houston are at 17%.
• McKinney voters will decide on five bond propositions totaling $485.5 million. Most of the money would go toward upgrading and expanding roadway infrastructure and improving the city’s parks and other green spaces. A smaller portion will be dedicated to updating old city facilities, including building a new municipal court, as well as renovating public safety buildings and fire stations.
Last year, McKinney residents voted against a $200 million bond package that would have added a commercial terminal at McKinney National Airport. Approval for the bond item failed, with several citing concerns about paying more in taxes to make the project possible.
• The City of Frisco is asking voters to decide on two public safety propositions that would provide more rights to firefighters. If approved, Proposition A would implement a civil service system that would provide more set rules for promoting firefighters and grant them additional protection "from political influence." A civil service system would also establish a commission that would listen to appeals from workers who get disciplined or fired.
Proposition B asks voters to approve collective bargaining rights for the Frisco Fire Department, which would grant the government workers power to negotiate with the city over workplace conditions, pay and benefits.
• Cedar Hill Independent School District has proposed $282.4 million in bond funding for improvements across 13 campuses that serve 8,000 students: $278.5 million for various capital improvements, including replacing roofing and HVAC systems, floors, ceilings and lighting and purchasing new furniture; and $3.9 million for new technology to be used by students.
• Homeowners in Lewisville Independent School District will vote on three school bond propositions totaling about $102 million. The biggest is the issuance of roughly $65.6 million of bonds for construction, renovation and equipment for athletics facilities including tennis courts, baseball/softball facilities, turf replacement, a field house, locker rooms and concessions. Additionally, Lewisville voters will cast ballots on issuance of $16.25 million of bonds by the school district for renovating and equipping two existing aquatic centers and issuance of roughly $20 million of bonds for stadium improvements at Hebron High School, Flower Mound High School, The Colony High School, Marcus High School and Lewisville High School.
• The City of Rowlett has bond proposals totaling nearly $51.4 million: $35 million for streets and sidewalks, $8.5 million for parks and recreation facilities such as Wet Zone and Kids Kingdom, $4.7 million for upgrades to three fire stations and nearly $3.2 million for street lighting for Lakeview Parkway, with any extra to go toward lighting along other streets.
• In the City of Farmers Branch, there are three bond propositions totaling $8 million: $5.5 million for water infrastructure; $2 million for continued renovations of the Branch Connection, a recreational facility for those ages 50 and older; $500,000 for the continuation of the city's Demo-Rebuild program, which provides incentives for residents and builders to demolish outdated and dilapidated structures in residential neighborhoods and replace them with new homes.
• Voters statewide will cast ballots for members of their county appraisal district boards. Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties are among those with contested races in North Texas.