On May 6th, San Antonio voters will decide the future of their city by voting on the San Antonio Bond Program for 2017. This bond package, earmarked for several different Propositions, is the largest municipal bond in the city’s history. This bond package will serve to improve the city’s long term infrastructure needs and move the city towards its future goals of sustainable growth for a city that is growing fast and shows no signs of slowing down thanks to its strong economy, cultural diversity, and forward thinking. What was once an afterthought to people outside of Texas, San Antonio is making huge strides to ensure that the world knows we are here and we are ready for the future.
San Antonio Bond Program Highlights
The 2017 bond package includes a wide array of projects across the city. One of the largest complaints about any city’s bond programs is that they often focus on the downtown and tourist areas and leave the suburban areas behind – the places where many of the voters live and work. You can view a map of proposed bond projects on the City of San Antonio’s website. The San Antonio Bond for 2017 focuses mainly on infrastructure projects and is broken down into a series of 6 Propositions to highlight how the money will be used. We will briefly touch on each of those Propositions, but we highly recommend you read more at the San Antonio Bond 2017-2025 page and The Rivard Report’s coverage of the bond package, from genesis to the vote.
Proposition 1
Proposition 1 covers the improvement of streets, bridges, and sidewalks. It is estimated that over $4 billion is needed to build, improve, and update city streets. This piece of the San Antonio Bond 2017 doesn’t spend nearly that much ($445,263,000 spread out over 64 projects), but it is a step in right direction for the city’s infrastructure needs.
Proposition 2
It goes without saying that San Antonio deals with flash flooding when the rains hit. We’ve seen the effects from downtown to the far reaches of 1604 and beyond on many occasions. Proposition 2 seeks to improve drainage and flood control with $138,998,000 spent on 19 projects.
Proposition 3
This segment of the San Antonio bond package will focus on parks and recreation with $187,313,000 spent on 79 projects. By government standards, that’s a lot of bang for your buck. The proposed projects are spread out all over the city and will impact residents no matter where they live.
Proposition 4
If you’re not utilizing San Antonio’s library system, you’re missing out. Yes, the internet has millions of pages of information right at your fingertips, but nothing compares to reading a book with no distractions from start to finish. Libraries provide an important service to our communities and encourage children (and adults) to read, learn, and be curious about the world around them. Skills that will help them develop and succeed in life. With 13 projects costing $24,025,000, this is just a small investment in the world of learning for the city.
Proposition 5
Public safety improvements will come for this piece of the bond package, with 5 projects totalling $34,411,000. As real estate agents, we work with a lot of police and firefighters and we know these vital pieces are often underfunded. These men and women give tirelessly to their communities and they deserve to have the support of the city in bringing their facilities up to speed as the city develops.
Proposition 6
As real estate agents, affordable housing is a key element to our daily lives. This $20,000,000 proposal will inject some much needed cash into projects that will focus on bringing the necessary infrastructure and laying the groundwork for affordable housing construction in several areas. As the city grows and home prices climb, affordable housing becomes a major issue for everyone no matter where you live. Expect to see a lot more discussion on affordable housing as the city continues it’s rise in the ranks of world class cities in America.
Early voting takes place on April 24-27, April 29, and May 1-2; election day is May 6. Voters will be asked to vote on each Proposition separately. We encourage you to read more and learn about each segment of the San Antonio Bond 2017 so that you can make an informed choice at the polls. To learn more about bonds, how they work, and how they affect the citizens, we recommend taking a look at the 2017-2022 Bond Program Information Guide, which you can also get in Spanish. You can also download the information guide (PDF) (and in Spanish) for later study. We encourage you to get out and vote on these Propositions that are vital to the city’s long term health and continued growth.
image courtesy of szeke
