Plano council calls $647 million bond election for May 3, 2025

The Plano City Council voted 8-0 to call a special election on May 3, 2025, asking voters to approve a $647 million general obligation bond package, Mayor John Muns announced at the meeting.

Budget Director Karen Riggs Whitley told the council the referendum totals "$647,000,000" and laid out the proposition totals: $316,500,000 for street improvements; $155,200,000 for a police headquarters; $51,000,000 for a police training center; $37,500,000 for public safety facilities (the majority for fire); $45,100,000 for a fleet operations center; $1,900,000 for a library project; and $40,800,000 for parks and recreation facilities.

The bond package would be placed on the May 3 ballot, with early voting scheduled April 22–29 and a virtual town hall on April 17. Whitley said staff will prepare a community impact brochure and other voter-education materials and that presentations to civic groups are planned.

Council discussion addressed how the city presents the expected tax impact. Councilmember Anthony proposed amendments to the voter materials requiring a bold notice explaining that the commonly used “one-year snapshot” shows only the projected tax-rate increase in a single year and that the bonds will require annual debt service for 20 years. Anthony said, in part, “This amount is only a 1 year snapshot of the cost to the average Plano homeowner of the projected tax rate increase during a single year…The debt on these bonds will have to be paid back every year for 20 years.”

Bond counsel Bob Drance of Norton Rose Fulbright advised keeping the formal resolution and the statutorily required ballot language concise, and placing the expanded explanatory material in subsequent voter-information documents: “I would suggest … that the document that you have before you, the resolution calling the election, … keep that pretty straightforward and simple,” he said.

Councilmembers agreed there is time to refine the voter-education materials. After further comments by several councilmembers urging voters to view the package as an investment in city infrastructure, the council approved the resolution to call the election by an 8-0 vote.

Mayor John Muns and staff also noted that, now that the election has been called, city resources cannot be used for advocacy for or against the bond package; staff reminded councilmembers to limit use of official resources to factual information about the referendum.

Votes at a glance: the council recorded a single roll-call outcome on the resolution calling the election; the motion passed 8-0.

What happens next: staff will finalize the community impact brochure and voter-education materials, post them on the city website, hold the virtual town hall on April 17 and provide presentations to civic groups ahead of early voting beginning April 22.