City of Shreveport residents will soon have the opportunity to vote on a proposal to invest millions of dollars in capital infrastructure projects. If approved by voters, the bond measure will authorize spending $256 million on various infrastructure projects, including streets, water and sewage. This site was created to ensure you had the facts prior to casting your vote on April 27th.
Cities routinely use municipal bonds to finance capital investments for public safety, technology, streets and drainage, park improvements, and economic development.
Some of the 2021 bond projects are completed and several more are under construction. A few, like the proposed Police Headquarters building, take a lot of planning and design work. Construction on that project will start in 2025.
The total property tax impact of the full $256 million in projects would likely be an increase of about 10 mills ($100 per year on a $100,000 home) by the end of that five year period. Small increases would begin to be seen in 2025, with the full impact not likely to be felt before 2028 or 2029. Even at it's largest, the portion of a citizen's property taxes applicable to paying off debt would be 1/3 smaller than it was twenty years ago.
Municipal bonds are issued by cities to fund public projects. General obligation bonds are not secured by assets; rather, they are backed by the full faith and credit of the issuer, which, in this case, is the City of Shreveport and its citizens. For this reason, bond proposals are subject to direct taxpayer review.
Cities use municipal bonds to finance capital improvement projects such as police and fire stations, roads, bridges, park improvements, and technological infrastructure.
The total property tax impact of the full $256 million in projects would likely be an increase of about 10 mills ($100 per year on a $100,000 home) by the end of that five-year period. Small increases would begin to be seen in 2025, with the full impact not likely to be felt before 2028 or 2029.
Even at it's largest, the portion of a citizen's property taxes applicable to paying off debt would be 1/3 smaller than it was twenty years ago.
Bond monies go towards capital projects that cannot be funded by the operating budgets in the General Fund. For many projects, bonds are the only funding sources available.
Many buildings and critical infrastructure are in great need of repair, and operating budgets cannot support the maintenance costs. In the long run bond investments save the City millions in maintenance costs.
Mayor Arceneaux and the Council chose citizens from their districts. As a part of this process, the committee held four public meetings in north, south, east and west Shreveport to hear feedback of what issues the public wanted addressed. After reviewing all of the City's greatest needs, the Citizen Committee presented recommendations to Mayor Arcenaux and the Council.
The City Council then passed the bond proposal by majority vote, recommending it to be sent on to the voters in April.
