Live Oak City Council on Feb. 8 agreed to put an $18 million general obligation bond on the ballot for the May 7 special election. This bond will be focused around street repairs and rehabilitation.
With the projected cost increases of construction materials over the next five years, council decided now is the best time to begin road repairs to be more cost effective for residents and taxpayers.
“If we don’t do the roads now, we are going to cost more on that end,” Council Member Erin Perez said. “Our residents are going to pay more because now our streets are failing and they are also having car issues and other quality of life.”
Council was presented with two options for bond repayments that would affect property tax rates differently. A wrap-around option was offered, which would have a lower property tax rate increase on citizens but would accumulate an estimated additional $1 million in debt repayment.
Council was not in favor of this option, instead going with the option to pay the bond upfront, which would raise the property tax rate an estimated $0.07 but would not result in the additional $1 million debt.
Mayor Pro Tem Ed Cimics mentioned breaking up the bond into focusing on specific high-priority roads to lower the overall amount of the bond.
“This is all dedicated to doing our street repairs,” Cimics said. “We talked about the initial proposal being $17 million if we did all the streets at one time. Now we are rounding it off at $18 million, and we are looking at a $0.07 tax increase on our citizens. For those that are in the smaller incomes, it is going to have a significant impact on them.”
City Council agreed to hold the special election in the amount of $18 million. Mayor Mary Dennis said that finding the right price point and tax rate increase can be difficult, but it will be up to voters to decide whether the debt can be approved for the city.
“It is a difficult balance for sure,” Dennis said. “Everyone I think will agree that the streets need to be done. We have got to do that. That is part of our responsibility, but at the end of the day, the voters will say either 'yay' or 'nay' on this item.”
More bond and ballot information will be posted to the city website prior to the May 7 election.
