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City CFO Robert Cortinas will present agenda item 25 to City Council this Tuesday, April 14 according to which $71,140,000 in general obligation bonds will be issued.
The funds will come from the Public Safety Bond, approved by the voters on November 5, 2019. This bloated general obligation bond authorizes the issuance of $413,122,650 for Police and Fire facilities, including a new $90.6 million police station, a $38.6 million Eastside police command center, and $74.4 million to renovate several fire stations.
Of the $71,140,000, a total of $3,100,000 are earmarked “for renewable energy and resource use efficiency improvements” (aka feel-good climate bullshit).
So far, only $167,297,200 of the Public Safety Bond has been issued. Come Tuesday, that figure will rise to more than $238 million.
The other big bond passed by the voters was the Community Progress Bond, on November 8, 2022 in the amount of $272,480,000. Of that amount, only $46,100,000 has been issued so far.
Unlike the 2012 Quality of Life Bond, the Public Safety Bond and Community Progress Bond are not subject to citizen oversight. There is no Bond Overview Advisory Committee with regular presentations from the Capital Improvement Department on the progress of the various projects.
Between the two bonds, the City plans to issue $135,000,000 of new debt in FY 2027, $130,000,000 in FY 2028, and $142,205,450 in FY 2029-2033.
Cortinas reports the debt service tax rate will remain steady at 21 cents through FY 2027, thanks to refunding bond opportunities and other efficiencies, but will rise to 23.2 cents by FY 2030.
Meanwhile, the M&O tax rate will face heavy upward pressure from the Police and Fire contracts and the decline in business property tax revenue (because of the new business personal property tax exemption of $125,000 passed by the Legislature in June 2025).
We can expect a year-to-year increase in the overall City property tax rate over the next several fiscal years, in spite of the Mayor’s mendacious promise to lower our property tax.
We shall continue to monitor the City’s finances very closely.
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