Some, but not all, bonds and charter amendments pass in May 1 elections

Brad Kellar, Rockwall County Herald-Banner, Greenville, Texas
·2 min read

May 7—Rockwall County voters said yes to most. but certainly not all, of the special propositions which were featured on the May 1 election ballots.

A recap of all of the contests is included in today's editions of the Herald-Banner, along with a list of who won spots on multiple city councils, school boards and the boards of two special utility districts in Rockwall County.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds were up for a vote on the ballots in jurisdictions across the county, designed to help pay for infrastructure improvements to meet the demands of the rapidly growing region.

— The Royse City ISD had a $230 million bond referendum under two propositions to address current and future student growth in the district. Both of the propositions passed by wide margins.

— The city of Fate Proposition A called for the issuance of $15 million in bonds to pay for street and road improvements, while Proposition B called for the Termination of the Fate Development Corporation (Type B) and the adoption of a local sales and use tax of 1.5 percent, both of which passed.

— The city of Rowlett had three bond proposals on the ballot. Proposition A called for almost $19.5 million in bonds, to pay for paving and drainage improvements, which passed, as did Proposition C, which included almost $2.29 million for public safety facilities. But Proposition B, $7.365 million for parks, trails and recreational facilities, filed by 61% to 39%.

— The city of Rowlett also had a Charter amendment election with six proposed changes to the city's governing document. Five of the propositions — including extending the term limits for the mayor and city council members and whether to change the amount they are paid to hold the positions — failed, although a measure calling for the Code of Ethics in the Charter to be amended to include provisions regarding the use of social media passed.

A total of 9,218 voters participated in the election, representing 12.98 percent of the county's 71,000 registered voters.