This article was updated on 4/9.
Galveston County residents will head to the polls in May to vote on a $186 million bond package.
The bond package includes three propositions.
Prop A authorizes $74 million for transportation infrastructure improvements. Prop B would spend $75 million on facility renovations and new buildings, while Prop C would authorize $36 million for drainage projects.
Critics are debating the impact on taxpayers. Currently, Galveston County property taxpayers owe $158,754,635 in bond debt principal and interest. The new bond package would more than double that debt.
County GOP Precinct Chair Kathy Rogers told Texas Scorecard she worries that the spending, particularly on roads, would be used to entice destination resorts—and ultimately gambling if it is legalized in Texas—to the area.
She also expressed concern that the bond was being handled with secrecy.
“There has not been any publicity about the bond. The first time the county said anything publicly was the day after I raised the issue at the GOP county executive committee meeting,” she said. “I was surprised that the executive committee would not even let me finish speaking about the motion to oppose the bond.”
“This violates the grassroots RPT priorities,” she added.
She plans to speak with Galveston County Commissioner Robin Armstrong about the county’s plans next Thursday. Armstrong told Texas Scorecard, “I am personally and morally in opposition to casino gambling, and can assure you that the Galveston County bond project is in no way related to or encouraging casino gambling. This bond project is for infrastructure, drainage, projects, and transportation.”
Armstrong said the projects specified in the bond cannot be changed and that residents can expect commissioners to “continue to adopt the no new revenue rate and continue to lower taxes even with this bond project.”
Supporters of the bond say Prop C addresses pressing needs in a flood-prone region.
Early voting begins Tuesday, April 22, and ends Tuesday, April 29. Election Day is Saturday, May 3.
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