Council hears public input and staff briefing on $700.7 million preliminary bond package; timetable set for late January decisions

City staff presented a preliminary $700.7 million general obligation bond referendum package and held a public hearing; council members asked for more specificity on large-ticket items, tax impacts, and voter education materials ahead of a Jan. 27 deadline to finalize propositions and a Feb. 10 vote to call the election.

Karen Rhodes Whitley led the staff presentation and said the preliminary package totals $700.7 million, with proposed allocations including $342.3 million for street improvements, $243.6 million for public-safety facilities, roughly $60.7 million for parks and recreation facilities, $45.1 million for a fleet operations facility, about $5 million for library facilities and $3.9 million for city maintenance facilities. She said the package is preliminary and that the council must decide proposition order and final project lists at the Jan. 27 meeting before ordinance adoption to call the election on Feb. 10.

Staff provided modeled tax-rate impacts under several…