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City staff outline planned 2026 GO bond sale; about $715 million would remain unissued after the sale
Summary
City treasurer and debt staff previewed a planned Series 2026 general obligation bond sale, explained why the sale is sized to match projected spending, and said roughly $715 million of voter-authorized bonds would remain unissued after the transaction. Commissioners pressed for project-level spend projections.
City Treasurer Belinda Weaver and debt-management staff briefed the Bond Oversight Commission on the city's planned Series 2026 general obligation (GO) bond sale, previewing program allocations and the transaction timeline.
Weaver said the city has approximately $2.4 billion in outstanding GO debt and that the debt is paid primarily from property taxes, which are split into operating-and-maintenance and debt-service components. "The debt service tax rate for fiscal year '26 is $0.1137 and the O&M was $0.4103," Weaver said, noting Project Connect represents roughly 20.8 percent of the O&M rate.
Joey Keller, division chief for debt management, walked commissioners through the mechanics of sizing a sale. Keller said the city aims to match bond issuance with near-term spend to limit arbitrage and avoid issuing debt earlier than necessary. He outlined a planned issuance for Series 2026 and a program-level breakout presented by staff, including allocations described in the presentation for affordable housing, parks, flood mitigation and libraries. After the planned sale, staff said there would remain about $715 million in voter-authorized but unissued GO bonds.
On schedule, staff said the preliminary official statement and offering documents will be prepared in early June, the parameters ordinance will go to City Council on Aug. 26-27 for approval, the bond sale is expected in September and closing in October.
Commissioners asked whether older authorized balances could be folded into the 2026 sale. Keller and Weaver said the city's analysis focuses on projects expected to spend in the near term and that issuing debt earlier than needed increases arbitrage and interest costs. "We're really trying to manage it best to where it lines up with when our expenditures are expected to take place," Keller said.
Several commissioners asked for more detail on small, long-outstanding balances from earlier bond years and requested a follow-up report on why those funds remain unspent. Staff agreed to provide additional project-level information and to coordinate with departments so commissioners can better evaluate spend plans.
The commission did not take a formal vote on a recommendation to City Council about the bond election during this meeting; staff said council will weigh package options that were discussed in recent work sessions.
