Phoenix 2023 special election: Voters to weigh in on $500 million general obligation bonds

Phoenix voters get to weigh in Nov. 7 whether the city should issue $500 million in general obligation bonds to finance major infrastructure projects citywide over the next five years.

The general obligation bonds would pay for projects for the police and fire departments, pools, splash pads, libraries, pavement preservation and drainage. It also would allow the city to buy land along the Rio Salado in south Phoenix, part of the larger "Rio Reimagined" vision to bring life back to the Salt River bed and spur economic activity.

Here's what you need to know.

Key dates and information

Ballots and information pamphlets about the election were mailed out in early October.

If you did not receive a pamphlet, it is available on the Phoenix City Clerk's Office website.

If you did not receive a ballot, vote in person starting Oct. 30. Check locations at Locations.Maricopa.Vote. You must be registered to vote to cast a ballot. The deadline to register to vote in this election was Oct. 10.

You can drop your ballot at a ballot drop box now through Election Day. Locations can be found at Locations.Maricopa.Vote.

Voters can check the status of their ballot at BeBallotReady.vote.

• Nov. 7: Election Day. Ballots must be received by the Maricopa County Elections Department, the agency running the election, no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.

• Oct. 31: The last day to mail back your ballot.

• Oct. 30: In-person ballot replacement voting begins.

What does a yes or no vote do?

Voting yes would greenlight the projects without raising residents' secondary property tax rate and would relieve the city's annual operating budget by reducing costs associated with fixing and maintaining deteriorating infrastructure. It would put Phoenix on the hook to pay back debt for the next 23 years.

Voting no means the city wouldn't take on more debt, which would leave the projects unfunded. It would force city officials to turn to their annual operating budget for critical infrastructure projects, to the detriment of city programs. Given the scope of infrastructure needs, myriad projects would go unfunded.

How would it affect my taxes?

General obligation bonds are paid through secondary property taxes. The rate changes based on how much debt the city has to repay.

Voting yes on this bond program would not raise your tax rate.

Here's why: Today's secondary property taxes are still paying back debt from the general obligation bond program that Phoenix voters approved in 2006. But in 2028, the debt the city has to pay back for those bonds drops significantly. When that happens, the city will have more room to take on debt.

Voting no could potentially lower your tax rate in 2028, though it's not guaranteed.

Here's why: The city plans to ask voters to approve another bond program in 2028, so if voters approve that, then the rate will not drop, even if voters reject the 2023 bond program (because the city is still repaying 2006-approved bonds). In other words, the tax rate will only drop if voters reject bonds in 2023 and 2028.

For more information on how this bond election could affect your taxes, read this subscriber-only story.

What gets funded?

There's $500 million total up for consideration, but it's split among four questions. Each question contains one or multiple categories. For a different view, click here.

1st Question: Public safety and streets, storm drainage ($214 million)

• Public safety: $132.5 million

  • Police Cactus Park precinct relocation: $37.3 million.

  • Fire Station 13 and Community Assistance Program (44th Street and Thomas Road): $21.8 million.

  • Fire Station 7 and Community Assistance Program (Seventh Avenue and Hatcher Road): $21.4 million.

  • Fire Station 15 and Community Assistance Program (45th Avenue and CamelbackRoad): $21.4 million.

  • New Fire Station 51 (51st Avenue and Loop 303): $18.6 million.

  • Police property management warehouse renovation: $9 million.

  • Maryvale Police Precinct renovation: $3 million.

• Streets and storm drainage: $81.5 million

  • Pavement maintenance supplement: $22 million.

  • Hohokam drainage program: $19.2 million.

  • Vision Zero project: $17 million.

  • Equity-based transportation mobility project: $12.6 million.

  • Laveen flood mitigation project: $8.2 million.

  • Storm drain replacement program: $2.5 million.

Question 2: Neighborhood services and parks and recreation ($108.6 million)

• Neighborhoods and city services: $44.6 million

  • New branch library at Estrella Civic Space: $8.6 million.

  • City facility ADA improvements: $10.1 million.

  • Yucca branch library expansion: $10.6 million.

  • New branch library at Desert View Civic Space: $10.3 million.

  • Historic Preservation Program: $5 million.

• Parks and recreation: $64 million

  • Maryvale Regional Pool and two splash pad sites: $14.4 million.

  • Harmon Park Regional Pool and three splash pad sites: $12.8 million.

  • Desert View Civic Space Phase I: $8.4 million.

  • South Mountain roadway safety enhancements - Phase I: $7.7 million.

  • Estrella Civic Space Phase I: $8.3 million.

  • Esteban Recreation Center: $4.5 million.

  • Margaret T. Hance Park: $3 million.

  • Telephone Pioneers of America Recreation Center: $2.2 million.

  • Citywide funding for minor capital projects: $1.5 million.

  • Mountain View Community Center Park Sports Complex: $1.2 million.

Question 3: Arts and culture, economic development and education, and environment & sustainability ($114.4 million)

• Arts and culture: $50.4 million

  • Latino Cultural Center: $21.6 million.

  • Valley Youth Theater permanent home: $14 million.

  • Phoenix Theatre Company Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) project: $5.8 million.

  • Children’s Museum of Phoenix expansion: $5.4 million.

  • Arizona Jewish Historical Society expansion project: $2 million.

  • Phoenix Center for the Arts project: $1.2 million.

  • Cultural Facilities Critical Equipment Replacements: $385,000.

• Economic development and education: $38 million

  • Rio Reimagined land acquisition: $23.5 million.

  • Arizona State University Health Technology Center: $12 million.

  • Spark Area land acquisition: $2.5 million.

• Environmental and sustainability: $26 million

  • Energy/water efficiency and renewable energy: $14 million.

  • Heat resiliency: $7.7 million.

  • City of Brownfields Redevelopment projects: $3 million.

  • Electrical vehicle charging station: $1.3 million.

Question 4: Affordable housing and senior centers ($63 million)

• Housing, human services and homelessness: $63 million

  • Affordable housing property preservation: $33.2 million.

  • Choice Neighborhoods housing development: $21.3 million.

  • Cesar Chavez Senior Center: $5.8 million.

  • McDowell Senior Center renovation: $1.8 million.

  • Innovation in the affordable housing program: $1 million.

For more information on how projects got funded, read this subscriber-only story.

What happens to the city if voters reject the bonds?

Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton says going without bonds causes stress to the annual operating budget. Failing to upgrade the city's infrastructure means things break down more often and require costly repairs that come out of the general fund, he said.

If voters rejected bond programs in perpetuity, "you would get a new fire station by annihilating the rest of the operating budget. You would have to cut big chunks of services. Closing libraries. Closing human services. Pools. ... That's the only way. If I needed a new fire station, where do I get it from? I got to maybe close a library and do a swap. It's not realistic."

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Reporter Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com. Reach her by email at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What to know about Phoenix's 2023 general obligation bond election