Buckeye staff proposes $75 million first tranche of voter-approved G.O. bonds under $2.25 tax-rate plan

City of Buckeye staff on Feb. 4 presented a plan to issue a first $75,000,000 tranche of voter-approved general obligation bonds to fund public-safety and transportation projects, financed by a secondary property tax that would keep the city's total property-tax rate at $2.25 as assessed valuations change.

Doug Sandstrom (staff) explained the financing approach and said the $75 million issuance is sized to start “visible construction happening throughout the city” while fitting within a conservative assessed-valuation growth model used for debt planning. “Any G.O. bonds that we issue are paid for utilizing secondary property tax,” Sandstrom said, describing how the primary rate has declined as assessed valuations rose and the secondary levy would rise to preserve a $2.25 total rate.

Why this matters: Voter approval of the bond questions in November authorized the spending program; this staff plan would begin the first construction and land-acquisition work while maintaining a predictable total tax-rate cap. The change creates a new secondary levy dedicated to bond debt service and will increase many homeowners’ city property-tax bills in the first year of issuance.

Key figures and timing - Bond questions passed in November (two measures: public safety $137…