City staff outlines 2026 bond propositions and legal rules for advisory members

City staff updated the Animal Services Advisory Committee on the council’s approval to proceed with a 2026 bond election that includes street projects, an animal shelter project and parks work, and provided guidance for advisory board members about permissible advocacy.

Lee, speaking for city staff, said the council authorized a bond election and distributed three pages of materials: legal and ethical guidelines for bond elections, tips for sharing bond information, and campaign sign rules, plus a color fact sheet summarizing propositions A, B and C. He pointed committee members to the city’s factual information page and two URLs, saginawbond2026.org and saginaw2026bond.org, saying the pages list early voting dates, election day and estimated tax-impact information for the average Saginaw home.

Lee explained outreach plans: staff expect to hold town-hall meetings in the Longhorn Room at the new senior center, with a separate session for each proposition (roads, parks, animal shelter) and a final combined meeting; meetings may be recorded for later viewing. When asked whether a new bond committee would be formed, staff said no and that staff-led informational sessions will be used instead.

City bond attorneys’ guidance was summarized for advisory members: Lee said, “you cannot advocate while acting as a body or when using city resources,” and emphasized that board members may speak or advocate on their own time and with their own resources but must take care not to present themselves as speaking for the city or the advisory board. He also reviewed campaign-sign rules (required payer disclosure on signs, placement restrictions such as no highway easements, private-property placement requiring owner permission). The 501(c)(3) group that planned to make signs was told to include the qualifying information mandated for paid campaign materials.

There were no public comments and the committee adjourned.