Texas voters approved nine of the 10 biggest city bond propositions on the May 4 ballot. All were proposed by North Texas cities.
According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, nearly 250 bond propositions totaling $15.5 billion were on voters’ ballots statewide.
Of those bonds, 38 were proposed by cities, totaling $2.4 billion.
The 10 most expensive city bonds accounted for nearly $2 billion.
Five of the 10 biggest city bond propositions in the state were in Dallas.
Dallas City Council placed 10 propositions totaling $1.25 billion in bond debt on a special election ballot.
Voters passed all 10 Dallas bonds by wide margins. They included the first, second, seventh, eighth, and ninth costliest city bonds in the state.
McKinney City Council placed five bond propositions totaling $485 million on a special election ballot.
Voters passed four of the five bond propositions. Three were among the state’s 10 biggest city bonds.
Voters rejected Prop B, $36 million for a new municipal court facility, 54-46 percent.
Prop A, the sixth-largest single city bond proposition on the May ballot ($106 million for parks), passed 58-42 percent.
Prop C ($30 million for public works facility improvements), passed by a 6-vote margin.
Prop D, the tenth-largest city bond on the ballot ($70 million for public safety facility improvements), passed 66-34 percent.
Prop E, the third-largest city bond on the ballot ($243 million for roads), passed 66-34 percent.
Voters also approved the fifth biggest city bond on the ballot, Lewisville’s Prop D ($199 million).
The fourth largest May 4 city bond proposition, Irving’s Prop A ($200 million), failed.
Cities in Texas currently owe $43 billion in bond debt backed by property taxes.
Data from fiscal year 2023 shows Texas local governments owed $211 billion in property tax-backed bond debt, and the state ranked third in terms of total outstanding local debt behind New York and California.
