By Richard Smith | Today Staff
Options remain open for the city, but it’s a pretty safe bet to bank on Surprise putting together a bond proposal in 2015 with the goal of placing it on the November ballot.
The city has a statutory authority to have $180 million in bond obligations, but is examining the option of a smaller $60 million bond to cover the cost of capital improvement projects in a five-year period.
Surprise has no General Obligation bond debt. If future city council and staff members want to continue this bond approach, it allows the flexibility to request another $60 million after five years and another $60 million after 10 years, keeping the city under the $180 million threshold, said finance director Lindsey Duncan.
The most likely avenue to help pay off the bonds is the addition of a secondary property tax. If approved, it would raise the total Surprise property tax from 76 cents per every $100 of assessed valuation to $1.42 per $100.
