Today is the first day of early voting.
In the city of El Paso the only issue (unless you vote in district 3 where there is a special city council election) is whether we will authorize the issuance of $413,122,650 in bonds for public safety purposes.
According to the city it will cost $12 per year in year one for a $100,000 home.
In year two the cost will be $24 for that same home.
Year three will be $36, year four will be $48, five will be $60 and year six the bill will be $72.
Presumably it will stay at $72 for the life of the bonds. The city reserves the right make the increases on a different schedule.
They also reserve the right to move the money around because after all they don’t really know what their suggested projects will cost.
Personally I can see the need for some new facilities. I would prefer however that they actually figure out what they want and how much it will cost instead of asking for a blank check.
This is an arrogant money grab. They evidently think that the voters will just give them a bunch of money and that they can decide what to do with it later.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
They need the money to offset spending on interest for money already borrowed through bonds and other overspending. This will get worse over time. This vote demonstrates the doomsday clock is ticking for the city’s eventual bankruptcy filing.
like other failed cities, el paso will build an arena then file bankruptcy within ten years.
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How much is the City projecting to make from the sale of the old Sears building? Or does the City plan on giving subsidies and tax breaks after giving the properties to their favorite developers. Might be something to keep an eye on. After all the City’s Economic Development Department is on the street level offices of the Mills building.
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Don’t worry they will get their money because it is police and fire. They didn’t put parks because people know what they did with the 2012 bond election.
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And over on Facebook at least one person is reporting they got a flyer telling them it was for raises for police and fire (which it is not). The flyer I got from the police union properly represented what it was for. If election dirty tricks are being used to convince voters this is about raises that would be bad. I’m voting no.
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Did the police union say that the city council can later choose to use the money for totally different purposes?
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PAY OFF OUR DEBT. DON’T CREATE MORE NEW DEBT.
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If El Paso voters are dumb enough to pass a bond that allows the city council and city manager to repurpose dollars however they like, then you know it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge.
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I just voted. I was the only voter there at the time. The judges said that there was steady traffic during the morning.
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Same here. I was the only one and the poll workers were talking so loudly among themselves it was hard to concentrate on the ballot wording. The city is counting on folks staying home and a bunch of city workers voting yes. Encourage your friends and family to vote in early voting. Every no vote will count this time.
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There are also some very important Constitutional Amendment Propositions on the Ballot and a link is provided below.
If you DO NOT want a personal income tax in Texas then vote YES for Proposition 4
If you DO NOT want state sales and use taxes on sporting goods to be dedicated soley to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission then vote NO to Proposition 5
If you DO want the state have the ability to provide more school funding then vote YES to Proposition 7
Here is a link to all 10 Propositions on the ballot and the text from Proposition 4,5, and 7 is below
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/15/texas-2019-constitutional-amendments-what-voters-need-know/
Proposition 4
How it will read on the ballot: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of an individual income tax, including a tax on an individual’s share of partnership and unincorporated association income.”
What it means: This would make it more challenging for future lawmakers to enact a personal income tax, requiring support from two-thirds of the House and Senate and a majority of Texas voters. Currently, the state Constitution requires that any proposal be approved a majority of lawmakers in the House and Senate and a majority of voters in a state-wide referendum.
Proposition 5
How it will read on the ballot: “The constitutional amendment dedicating the revenue received from the existing state sales and use taxes that are imposed on sporting goods to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission to protect Texas’ natural areas, water quality, and history by acquiring, managing, and improving state and local parks and historic sites while not increasing the rate of the state sales and use taxes.”
What it means: It would earmark all revenue from the sporting goods sales tax toward the state parks and wildlife department and historic commission, as intended when the tax was created in 1993. In the past, the Legislature has not appropriated all available tax revenue to TPWD and THC.
Proposition 7
How it will read on the ballot: “The constitutional amendment allowing increased distributions to the available school fund.”
What it means: This would allow the General Land Office, the State Board of Education and other entities to double the amount of revenue they can provide the Available School Fund each year. The Available School Fund provides classroom materials and funding for Texas schools.
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Revenue from sporting goods was originally supposed to go to Parks and Wildlife, which is severely underfunded, but our cagey legislators find ways to use it for other purposes. This Proposition will make them stop! If you like getting out in our state parks….or visiting historic sites, vote YES on #5!!!!
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Will new policing stations and headquarters make our city safer? Right now, don’t bother calling police. They have to be incredibly bored to respond to your call. Downtown, the merchants report the police don’t come at all. Vote it down.
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