By Gary Nelson | The Republic | azcentral.com
The challenges of being both an old city and a rapidly growing city could force Mesa voters into a big-dollar decision this fall.
Officials last week began laying the groundwork for a likely November bond election to generate money to expand and shore up Mesa’s water, sewer, electric and gas systems.
Unlike Mesa’s two most recent bond elections, this one would have no impact on city property-tax rates.
The past two elections have been for general-obligation bonds backed by secondary property taxes.
Utility work is financed by so-called revenue bonds, which are repaid through utility rates and from developer impact fees.
Mesa voters traditionally have strongly supported utility bond issues. The last time was in 2010, when the price tag was $202 million.
