Bond package goes to the voters in November

There will be two bonds on the November ballot (here is the Tribune Story). The paired down version of the public safety bond and the transportation bond complete with a secondary property tax will make its way to the very bottom of a crowded ballot headlined by the McCain/Obama race, Corporation Commissioners, Congressional and Legislative races along with several initiatives.

Congratulations to Mayor Smith and the council for taking the lead and bringing forth a bond package that is much more realistic in this tough economic climate. Clearly, they are putting their new reputation on the line putting a tax in front of an electorate which has been very much anti-tax in the past. However, I do think they have a few factors going for them:

1. This is a secondary tax with a finite time period. Its for very specific projects and has a time when it will go away. The list of projects will definately help voters get over the hump of paying more taxes. The last time around, may people considered the primary property tax a blank check.

2. The new council has their fingerprints all over this bond. There is still an air of hope around this new council and that may translate into more people trusting their decisions. If they say that these are critical, more people are going to stand up and take notice.

3. There is just as much that can be said about what they cut as what they left in. As the police union folks pointed out, everything in the public safety budget is critical, yet the council did not cave and pile everything back in. They stuck to their guns, went with the smaller package showing that they may better understand the will of the voters.

4. Finally, they left the issue of taxing existing bonds for another day. This is going to be a whole different fight, even if it is only 3 cents per $100,000. The rhetoric that surrounds that type of decision could spell big trouble for the bond package. They would do well to try to find alternate fund sources or at least avoid this discussion until after November.