Collin County Bond Package Passes!

Thanks to the voters for the support of these important propositions.

Prop #1   68.75% in Favor

Prop #2   68.05% in Favor

Prop #3   64.68% in Favor

 

Vote YES for the Collin County Bond Package

It is crucial for the continued growth of our county that we support this bond proposal to improve our regional transportation system. I am certainly not alone in my support for the Collin County Bond Transportation Proposal.

Additional Endorsements:
It was unaminously endorsed by the Frisco City Council as well as Frisco City Staff. It was also endorsed by the City Council of Melissa, Prosper, Allen, Anna, Richardson and Murphy. The Frisco and Plano Chamber of Commerce also endorsed the Proposal. Most importantly, it was endorsed by the citizen committee appointed to make recomendations to the County Commissioners and later approved by a vote of 4-1 in support of the proposal. Judge Keith Self was the dissenting vote.

Rebuttal to Keith Self’s Objections to the County Bond Proposal

On November 6, 2007 the citizens of Collin County will have the opportunity to approve a 328.9 million dollar bond program, divided into three parts:

Transportation $235.6 million
Facilities $ 76.3 million
Open Space $ 17.0 million
Total $328.9 Million

This bond program has been developed by three county-wide citizens committees and approved for the November ballot by the Collin County Commissioners Court.

You are urged to support all three parts as they will provide significant benefits throughout Collin County without a county tax rate increase or an adverse impact on the County’s AAA bond rating.

Commissioner Self was the only County Commissioner to oppose the County Bond Proposal. Below are the 9 points that Judge Self has listed on his website to oppose the bond proposal. I have also included my comments to each point below.

In Collin County, The ‘C’ Stands for Cooperation

I often get asked if the County should be building roads or should that be the responsibility of the individual cities? The answer is “Yes!” the County should absolutely be involved with the construction of our local roads. With the County’s assistance, the cities within the County are incentivized to cooperate to build our growing infrastructure.

The cities within the County are required to pay 50% of the costs associated with the road construction. County participation and leadership in this process assures the funding is spent for major arterials/thoroughfares (generally 6 lane divided) carrying traffic through and between cities and towns. It permits concentrating funds on the highest priorities in the county. County participation and leadership also assures coordination between cities and towns for continuity of the overall road system and to prevent bottlenecks/discontinuities at city/town boundaries in a cost effective manner. In addition, all projects in the bond program are required to be started within the next five years to help mitigate congestion as rapidly as possible.

 

Ever wonder how the Collin County Bond Priorities Are Set?

If you wonder how the County funds are allocated, below is some information on how the process works. As the Transportation bond proposal is the most complex of the three and directly addresses Collin County’s most critical issue – traffic mobility/congestion – this discussion explains the Transportation proposal.