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Plano council narrows bond referendum, keeps public safety and major street projects at top
Summary
Council members agreed on a shorter bond package and preliminary proposition structure for a May referendum, prioritizing police, fire and major street work while moving or deferring smaller items to other funding sources or future bonds.
Plano City Council members spent a three-hour preliminary open meeting on Jan. 27 refining a proposed bond referendum for the May ballot, agreeing to narrow the package and group projects into a smaller set of propositions that front-load public safety and major street work.
Budget capital-improvement program manager Jason Gregorash told the council staff would return on Feb. 10 with a resolution to call the election and asked for council direction on which projects and proposition order to present to voters.
The council repeatedly emphasized public safety and infrastructure as top priorities. “We provide for public safety, first and foremost,” Councilman Smith said during the discussion. Fire Department leaders explained why some station upgrades are now scoped as near-rebuilds: Chief Biggerstaff said station 5’s work and rising construction costs changed how the department allocated earlier bond money and that station 5’s remodel is “closer to a rebuild than a remodel.”
Council members pressed staff to trim or reclassify items that could be funded through other sources or deferred. Several members proposed moving selected streets, screening walls, sidewalks and certain downtown right-of-way work out of the bond and into pay-as-you-go capital maintenance, TIF proceeds or future bond cycles. Council members asked staff to break out very large, discrete facility projects (those over $50 million) as standalone ballot items so voters could see big-ticket choices separately.
City staff reported a set of agreed adjustments that reduce the draft package from roughly $700 million toward a roughly $640.8 million authority. Items shifted or reduced in the council discussion included: pushing Hall Park to a later bond cycle; removing a miscellaneous traffic-improvements line; deferring Parr and Haggard library remodels in favor of prioritizing the oldest library; reducing the parks land‑acquisition total to $10 million; and looking to capital maintenance or TIF funding for sidewalk, alley and screening‑wall work. Council members also asked staff and the bond attorney to consolidate or re‑label some line items so ballot language is clearer to voters.
Council members discussed but did not make a formal, final vote on the package tonight; Gregorash said staff would return with the narrowed project list and the formal election resolution for Feb. 10. Several council members reiterated that authorizing bond authority does not obligate the city to issue the full amount immediately; the authority gives the city flexibility to issue debt later as projects and partner funding are confirmed.
Why it matters: the discussions set the city’s approach to a large public-investment decision. Council members sought to preserve core safety and infrastructure work while reducing sticker shock and presenting clearer voter choices. The council’s direction will shape ballot language and voter materials ahead of the Feb. 10 resolution to call the election.
The council’s next step is a Feb. 10 meeting where staff will present final language, the election call and any revised project list and proposition order for formal council action.
