Voters urged to pass bond

CHANDLER – Residents and city administrators met in Chandler on Saturday to discuss a $5.8 million bond proposal to fund a new city hall and storm shelter complex. During a bond open house on Saturday, residents got to hear from Chandler City officials, the project architect and city bond financial advisors about what the bond will fund. For $5,864,000, the bond would fund a new police station, a new fire station, a new city hall and a new city storm shelter that would all be housed within the same complex, according to our news partner KETK.

According to tax information provided by the City of Chandler, if the bond passes, it will be implemented in one of two scenarios that would offset the I&S tax rate increase needed to fund the bond. In scenario one, the I&S tax rate increase will be offset by profits from the lease of the ESD 12 building and in scenario two, the increase will be offset by the ESD 12 lease and funds made from the sale of the current city hall building. The first scenario would lead to a $0.0762 property tax increase while the second scenario would lead to $0.0126 property tax increase.

Kelly Smith, a candidate for Chandler City Council, expressed concerns about the budget for the bond and said voters need more information about the proposal, considering that Chandler residents would be paying off the bond for the next 20 years.

Open house attendees said the need for this bond has been discussed around Chandler since at at least as far back as 2011. The bond will be available for Chandler residents to vote on starting on April 20, ahead of Election Day on May 2.