Denton voters will have a chance to learn more about two of the November propositions in forums on the bond election and the proposed ban on hydraulic fracturing, thanks to the local League of Women Voters.
The first forum is planned for Thursday night at the Denton Senior Center. Assistant City Manager Bryan Langley, who oversees the city’s financial affairs, and Randy Robinson, co-chairman of the citizen bond advisory committee that worked on the propositions, will present information about the bond package.
The four separate propositions, if approved, would provide for $98.2 million in capital improvement bonds, the majority of which will go toward repairing city streets. The package is the largest the city has ever put before Denton voters.
The citizen committee selected projects that totaled about $24 million for street reconstruction and another $38 million for other mobility and traffic improvements. Also selected were more than $8 million for drainage, $11 million for parks and $16.5 million for public safety.
If all the propositions pass, the spending package could ultimately bring a 3-cent increase to the city’s property tax rate. The city’s current property tax rate is 68.975 cents per $100 valuation.
The increase means the average Denton homeowner could pay about $48 more in property taxes each year, based on an average home price of about $160,000.
Sue Smith of the league’s local chapter said organizers plan a question-and-answer session after the formal presentations.
But the league probably won’t ask attendees to write down their questions, unlike the candidate forums it organizes each spring.
“We’ll probably have an open discussion,” Smith said.
Along with a full slate of statewide and county candidates, Denton has a total of seven propositions for Election Day on Nov. 4.
In addition to the four that make up the bond package, two citizen initiatives — one to ban fracking and another to legalize liquor sales citywide — are on the city ballot.
Smith said the league was still looking for panelists for the forum on fracking, as members plan a pro-and-con discussion for Oct. 11 at Dan’s Silverleaf.
Should Denton voters approve the ban, it would be the first of its kind in Texas.
The city also is asking voters to declare a small portion of the southwest side of North Lakes Park as surplus land.
If voters agree, the city is expected to work with a local developer, which wants to buy the land in exchange for cash and another small parcel on the northeast side of the park that the city could use to expand the tennis and soccer facilities there.
PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881 and via Twitter at @phwolfeDRC.
IF YOU GO
What: Forum on the city of Denton bond election, presented by the League of Women Voters of Denton
When: 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday
Where: Denton Senior Center, 509 N. Bell Ave.
