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City staff presents options to sync GO bond and half-cent sales tax renewals; council favors alignment
Summary
City staff outlined schedules and three scenarios for future capital funding: varying combinations of GO-bond terms and voter-approved half-cent sales-tax extensions. Council favored synchronizing the two funding sources and targeting a spring 2026 election window.
City staff presented possible timelines and budget scenarios July 7 for renewing or extending two voter-approved funding sources that the city uses for capital projects: the general-obligation (GO) bond program and the dedicated half-cent sales tax.
Key points: The city—s current 2020 sales-tax extension expires June 2026; the active GO bond program expires in fall 2027. Staff outlined three scenarios showing 3–5 year GEO bond lengths and 5-year sales-tax extensions with resulting dollar-amount estimates over multi-year periods. Options ranged from staggered expirations to synchronized timetables that would place both funding questions on a single election cycle.
Council preferences and next steps: After discussion council members expressed preference for synchronizing the GO bond and sales-tax cycles and for keeping renewal durations in the 4–5 year range. Council members discussed the tradeoffs of longer terms (predictability vs. higher forecasting uncertainty for construction inflation) and the administrative workload to prepare for elections. Staff said a synchronized approach would simplify public messaging and recommended beginning the committee and project-selection process in August so the council could consider a formal package in October for a target spring 2026 election.
Ending: Council gave staff direction to pursue synchronization and to prepare materials and timelines for formal council action; staff recommended March 2026 as a likely election month that balances weather and outreach timing.
