Balch Springs council reviews $11–13M bond plan to fund streets, parks and city-center projects

Balch Springs — City staff and the city’s financial advisor laid out a proposed 2025 capital improvement program (CIP) and a plan to issue certificates of obligation to raise roughly $11 million to $13 million for streets, sidewalks, parks and early city‑center projects, during the May 12 Balch Springs City Council meeting.

The CIP presentation, delivered by city staff and finance advisers, highlighted major reconstruction projects — including Elam Road, Spring Lake/Spring Oaks Drive and Shepherd Lane — and said $11 million of a proposed $13 million issuance would be allocated to street projects. "We had a bond option ... between 11 and $13,000,000 issuance that we wouldn't have to raise taxes at this time," city staff member Charles Fenner said during the presentation.

The financial advisor, Charles Saponas, told the council the city has low existing debt and a relatively small interest-and-sinking (I&S) tax rate. He said pending Texas legislation could limit municipal authority to issue debt and urged the council to act quickly if it wished to preserve current issuance options. "If you want to go forward under the current legislative ability of a city to issue, we need to move forward quickly,"…