Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect an update from the city manager's office, stating that a bond must be called 77 days before the election date.

Despite the city’s continually decreasing debt rate from $0.5830 per $100 valuation in 2015 to the current $0.540199 per $100 valuation for 2018, McKinney City Council is discussing a potential bond election in 2019.

According to a presentation during the Oct. 1 work session meeting, the last bond that the city passed was in 2015 for $100.3 million with $54.2 million remaining. The remaining funds are earmarked to be spent on streets/traffic, public safety and drainage projects by 2023.

During the budget work session in August, City Manager Paul Grimes said the council will have to consider a future bond election to fund community improvement projects after this upcoming budget because the city’s road funds from the 2015 bond will be exhausted after next year.

“If the council wishes to continue to build the infrastructure to sustain this quality of growth and leverage more commercial growth, we will need to consider an upcoming bond election to provide the funds to continue building the community without overwhelming residential taxes to try to cash-fund projects,” Grimes said during the August work session.

There are 39 unfunded future projects in the pipeline, which cost an estimated total of $477 million, according to a presentation. Included in the list are major projects, such as over $60 million in street improvements, an Apex Center expansion, a new senior center,Phase 1 of Gray Branch community Park and a new municipal complex, among other things.

According to the council’s discussion, each council member will nominate candidates to form a bond committee by Oct. 16. This committee will work with city staff to establish preferred projects, validate cost estimates and present its recommendations to the council by January or February 2019. Following a presentation in January or February, should the council decide to call for a bond, council members would set a final slate of priority projects and then would call for the May 2019 bond election.

The bond’s total is still unknown but will likely not be for the total $477 million, Grimes said. The amount would be refined based on the projects the committee and the council approve to be funded through a bond. According to Grimes, this bond would not affect the current tax rate.

A bond election must be called at least 77 days prior to the election date.