PHX Reporter

The Phoenix City Council discussed plans during its May 3 meeting for $500 million in bonds that were approved last year, setting a proposal to be voted on by the community in November.

The council approved $500 million in bonds in December. The bond program will include the following allocations for city programs and services: Arts and Culture, $50,385,000; Economic Development and Education, $38 million; Environment and Sustainability, $26 million; Housing, Human Services and Homelessness, $63 million; Neighborhoods and City Services, $44,615,000; Parks and Recreation, $64 million; Public Safety, $132.5 million; and Streets and Storm Drainage, $81.5 million. The proposal took several months to create and submit to the council for approval, but Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari said the process will be worth the wait.

"This bond will be a major and transformative, exciting investment in communities throughout Phoenix," she said. "And I want to thank all of the committee members who spent countless hours working diligently to filter through these projects, approve these projects, and of course, to the residents who took time out of their days to come advocate and vocalize what they wanted to see the city spend money on."

Council members said they want to engage and receive feedback from the community throughout the bond election process, which they proposed for Nov. 7. In addition to setting the election, the council also approved an agreement with Maricopa County to conduct the election, at a cost of $2 million from the city toward the estimated $4 million total cost of the election.

“I want to thank our amazing bond committee who looked at so many needs in America's fastest-growing city and put forward a balanced package that includes arts and culture, public safety, investment in infrastructure and maintenance of city facilities,” Mayor Kate Gallego said.

The council also approved a contract for services to re-draw the district lines in the city. The contract, which will amount to $550,000, is part of a routine plan to reexamine district lines every 10 years after the census is taken, having last been done in 2013. The contract is a one-year obligation with the option to extend to up to four years. Council member Jim Waring said he was interested in increasing the number of districts in the city from eight due to its growing population, but that can't be done until around 2030. Other members agreed, planning to move forward with the process after the bond election in November.