Council began the process to issue the bonds in July so that the funds could be delivered to the city in late September.
Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said the funds will be used for projects that were temporarily paused at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to allow the city to assess its budget needs.
During council's July 7 meeting, Assistant City Manager Nell Lange said $30 million in general obligation bonds would be used for the continuation of road projects such as the expansion of Panther Creek Parkway between the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road.
The other $15.1 million in certificates of obligation bonds will support the installation of water lines along Rockhill Parkway and near the future PGA of America headquarters, Lange explained. Those will also fund a sewer interceptor in that area and the replacement of a lift station at Legacy Drive, she said.
“They are critical projects,” Cheney said in July of the planned work. “They’re infrastructure projects for the northern part of our city where there's a lot of development happening.”
The certificates of obligation bonds will be repaid from Frisco’s Water and Sewer Utility Fund, while the general obligation bonds will be repaid from ad valorem taxes. Cheney said issuing the bonds is not expected to affect the city’s tax rate.
Council will also hold the second public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget during the Sept. 1 meeting.
While the proposed tax rate of $0.4466 per $100 valuation is consistent with Frisco's 2019-20 tax rate, it will raise 2.2% less revenue from property taxes compared with the revenue raised on the same properties for the current budget. In a document prepared for council, city staff said revenue to be raised from new property value added to the tax roll this year through construction is more than $8.06 million.
A draft version of Frisco’s proposed budget is available to view on the city website.
A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be held during the Sept. 15 meeting, and council will consider adopting the budget and tax rate during that meeting.
Council’s 5 p.m. meeting on Sept. 1 will be held in the council chambers at the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center, 6101 Frisco Square Blvd., Frisco. The meeting will also be streamed live on the Frisco Television Network, which is shown live on the city’s website here.
Council will hold a work session at 4 p.m. Sept. 1 in the fourth floor McCallum Room of the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center. The agenda for the work session includes council discussion of COVID-19 reporting, proposed stormwater fee increases and the contract for funding related to the arts.
Council will also receive regular monthly reports from the public works, parks and recreation, and human resources departments as well as the Frisco Public Library at its regular meeting.
