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Study recommends voter-approved bond to fund Delaware County Greenways; council asks for scenarios before deciding
Summary
A Trust for Public Land feasibility study presented to Delaware County Council recommends a voter-approved general obligation bond to fund future Greenways grants and land conservation; council members supported further outreach and asked staff to prepare scenarios showing tax/debt-service impacts before placing a question on the ballot.
Gina Greer, the county planning director, told the Delaware County Council on June 17 that a feasibility study conducted by the Trust for Public Land and partner organizations identified two practical financing routes for sustaining the county's Greenways program: council-authorized non-electoral debt or a voter-approved general obligation bond.
Greer summarized that the Greenways program has funded roughly $20 million in grants (matched by more than $40 million in additional funds) since 2019. The TPL study found both non-electoral debt and electoral debt could be feasible, but recommended a voter-approved general obligation bond as the preferred approach to build long-term, reliable funding for open-space protection, park, trail and stormwater projects.
"Based on the work that TPL did, they evaluated our existing financing options and found two feasible options," Greer said. "Their recommendation was a voter-approved general obligation bond with timing to coincide with a presidential or midterm general election to reach the most voters." She told council that to place a question on the November midterm ballot the council would need to introduce an ordinance for first reading in July and vote on it in August so the text could be approved and printed in time.
Council members broadly welcomed the start of the conversation but emphasized the need for clear scenarios showing the tax impact and possible tranching of borrowings. Councilwoman Schaffer said open-space bond programs are common in the region and allow spreading costs across beneficiaries and future users; others said voters deserve concrete examples of what authorization amounts would mean for household taxes.
Vice Chair Reuther noted county capital and maintenance obligations and said the council must balance other priorities; she asked staff to present scenarios that translate bond authorizations into likely debt-service and taxpayer impacts and emphasized the need to phase borrowings in tranches tied to readiness of projects.
No ordinance was introduced at the June 17 meeting. Council asked staff to return with modeled scenarios and cost illustrations before deciding whether to place a bond question before voters.
