For many Texans, 14 constitutional amendments may be the only thing on their Nov. 7 ballot. But Collin County voters have a lot more to think about, including a significant bond package for the county and another bond package for Allen residents.
There are also mayoral elections in Lavon, Weston and Lowry Crossing.
The Collin County elections department has shared a sample ballotof all of the races going on in the county.
Collin County Bond Election
Collin County has a $683 million bond package on the ballot. The package includes five propositions, with a huge chunk of it going toward improving county roads that are being overloaded by the county’s exploding population.
Proposition A: Jail, Courthouse and Juvenile Justice Facility Expansions
Proposition A would put $261.9 million toward expanding the county jail, courthouse and juvenile justice facility.
Proposition B: Animal Shelter Expansion
The second proposition in the county bond package, totaling $5.7 million, would double the size of the county’s animal shelter if passed. It would also add a cat quarantine room and a clinic with two surgery bays.
Construction wouldn’t finish until February 2027 if the bond passes. But Kimberly Alsobrook, the shelter’s volunteer and foster coordinator, told KERA in a previous interview that they need the space now. She said animal intake numbers are up this year, but adoption rates are down.
Marla Fields, the administrator of animal advocacy group Frisco’s Pet Project, said the shelter has been overcrowded for at least a decade.
“They’re just scrambling,” Fields said. “There’s cages on top of cages.”
Frisco doesn’t have a city animal shelter like Plano or Allen. Fields said Frisco’s Pet Project has been trying to get the Frisco city council to put money for an animal shelter on a bond for years — but the mayor and most of the city council members have been resistant.
The council took the money for a shelter off the ballot for the bond election last May – even though the citizen bond committee recommended it. Fields said that frustrates animal advocates.
“The county is doing enough already,” she said. “They don't need to be asked to do even more.”
She also said the expansion isn’t enough to solve the shelter’s overcrowding, calling it a band-aid on a bigger issue.
Proposition C: Expanding the County’s Medical Examiner’s Office
This proposition would put $13.4 million toward a new Medical Examiner’s office.
Proposition D: Parks Projects
Proposition D would put $22.5 toward park and open space projects. This includes money for joint projects with city councils in the region.
Proposition E: Road improvements
Most of the bond package - $380 million – would pay for improving county roads. Most of the committee that wrote the bond package recommended increasing this proposition to $600 million, which would raise the bond total to $1 billion.
The committee chair, Rusty Glover, said the county needed more money for roads to keep up with population growth.
“That need is just going to continue to grow year after year after year, and we're going to be behind that,” Glover said.
Collin County has a population of more than one million and is the third-fastest developing county in the nation, according to the U.S. Census. That means more cars on county roads that weren’t designed to handle a lot of traffic.
But the Collin County commissioners didn’t follow the committee’s suggestion to increase the bond’s funding for road improvements. County Judge Chris Hill said during a previous commissioners court meeting that was because of the property taxes.
The court passed a property tax rate of about $0.149 cents per $100 of a home’s value in September. That’s slightly less than the tax rate the county adopted last year, which was $0.152 cents per $100. But home values in the county went up about 14%, so the average homeowner’s property tax bill in Collin County is expected to go up.
Hill was the only one to vote against the property tax rate. He said during a previous meeting that the county shouldn’t raise taxes ahead of the bond election.
“My concern is after we potentially raise your taxes, we’re going to ask you if you’re willing to raise your own taxes to approve the bond election,” Hill said.
Commissioner Susan Fletcher said in a social media post that the adopted tax rate will help the county keep up with the costs caused by its growing population. She said the county couldn’t lower the tax rate this year and fund county services because the tax rate had been lowered frequently in the past.
“We had nowhere to pull from for the additional funding that was necessary this year,” she said.
Allen City Bond
Allen residents also have a city bond package with five propositions to vote on. The $156.5 million package would go toward infrastructure improvements and a new city police headquarters.
Proposition A: Street Improvements
Allen’s first bond proposition includes $47 million for street improvements, including streetlights and pedestrian crossings in Allen neighborhoods.
Proposition B: Expanding Ford Park
The second proposition on the ballot in Allen’s city bond election is $17 million in addition to Ford Park. The expansion would add athletic fields and a sports court if passed.
Proposition C: Public Art Projects
The third proposition in the city of Allen’s bond package would put $1.5 million toward public art projects.
Proposition D: Downtown Infrastructure
Proposition D would put $8 million toward improving streets and other infrastructure in Allen’s downtown.
Proposition E: New Police Headquarters
The final and largest proposition in Allen’s city bond package, Proposition E includes $83 million for a new Allen Police Headquarters and emergency dispatch office.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For Americacorps member for KERA News.
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