Lauderhill leaders outline $65M RISE general-obligation bond ahead of March 10 vote

Kenny Hobbs, Lauderhill city manager, told a neighborhood town hall that the city is asking voters on March 10 to approve a $65,000,000 general obligation bond called RISE Lauderhill, divided into three independent questions for public safety, parks and transportation.

Hobbs said the bond is the city’s third GO bond (the first was in 2005 and the second in 2016) and emphasized the city will “not raise the debt portion of the tax bill” as it pertains to the proposed bond, identifying the debt-service millage as 1.1212 mils. He also noted the bond affects only the city portion of property taxes and will hit homeowners differently depending on homestead status and recent purchase price.

Finance presenter Sean Henderson said the package splits funds to emphasize equity across neighborhoods: $31,000,000 for citywide equity projects and $34,000,000 for parks (total $65,000,000). Henderson provided neighborhood allocations including Northwest ($4,600,000), Inverary ($5,000,000), Central Lauderhill ($6,000,000), East Side ($5,300,000), Saint George/Broward Estates ($8,600,000) and West Kenlark ($1,300,000).

Henderson illustrated household-level impacts using the unchanged 1.1212 millage, giving examples of current and projected per-household costs in sample blocks (examples included $60.84 currently for a sample block rising in worst-case scenarios to $67.49 or $77.39 depending on value increases). He framed borrowing $65 million now as a hedge against inflation and a way to implement improvements quickly rather than using smaller, staggered revenue bonds.

Public-safety and facility upgrades were outlined in the presentation: Deputy Chief Kevin Granville described license-plate readers (LPRs) as an investigative tool that notifies officers when vehicles tied to crimes enter the city; Granville recounted a recent case in which an LPR alert helped intercept a vehicle connected to a homicide in a neighboring jurisdiction. Fire Chief Robert Torres said bond funds include an overhang at Fire Station 57 to protect spare vehicles and help maintain the department’s ISO Class 1 classification, which the chief said translates into lower insurance costs for residents.

Parks were the single largest item in the bond proposal. Parks director Scott detailed phase-3 projects for Saint George, including the Sam Warkison pool, a football field with Musco 0‑spill sports lighting, additional parking, marquee signage and outdoor bleachers; he said the pool and sports programs could support swim-team and lifeguard career pathways.

Hobbs explained the March 10 ballot will present the GO bond as three separate questions voters can approve or reject independently: Question 1—public safety ($9,500,000); Question 2—park improvements ($34,000,000); Question 3—transportation and roadways ($21,500,000). He directed residents to lauderhillgeobond.info and sample ballots at the information table for details.

On timing, Hobbs said the commission previously approved a reimbursement resolution so staff can begin pre-construction planning immediately after passage; he said top projects have already been identified and the city has convened a capital-improvement team to begin implementation planning.

The city manager and staff took numerous resident questions at the end of the meeting about resurfacing priorities, drainage, the interface between road work and underground utilities, and whether proposed statewide changes to homestead exemptions would affect the bond. Hobbs reiterated that changes to homestead exemptions would reduce the operating portion of a tax bill but not eliminate the voted debt-service obligation for existing GO bonds until those debts are repaid.

The town hall concluded with Hobbs inviting community input on final designs before items return to the commission for formal approval.