To vote for or against about $720 million worth of property tax-supported bond projects is the question facing El Paso County voters on the lengthy, Nov. 5 election ballot.
In addition, voters inside El Paso city limits, have a third bond-related decision: whether to cancel $128.5 million in authorized bonds for the long-proposed, but never built, Downtown multipurpose arena.
The $324 million El Paso County Capital Improvement Bond issue has more than 25 projects, including improvements at Ascarate Park and other county parks, renovation of the 82-year-old El Paso County Coliseum campus, and constructing several facilities, including a new animal shelter.
Voters will have the choice of voting for or against each proposition individually. They are labeled alphabetically from A through E on the crowded election ballot.
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If all five propositions were approved, the property tax would increase about $5 per month, or about $60 per year, over many years on a home with an average taxable, or tax assessed value, in 2024 of $201,000, county information shows.
Each proposition has a corresponding property tax cost, ranging from an average of almost $5 per year for the least expensive proposition, building a new medical examiner’s complex; to about $20 a year for the most expensive proposition, renovating the county coliseum campus.
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The county paid El Paso marketing firm Barracuda Public Relations $539,750 to promote and coordinate 24 community meetings through much of 2024 to get public input on project proposals as part of a process to get a final list of bond projects.
County officials by law cannot advocate for the bond issue, but only provide information about the projects. County staff has solely handled the county’s informational campaign since County Commissioners voted in August to put the bonds on the Nov. 5 ballot, a county spokesperson said.
Besides staff time, about $4,000 has been spent on printing costs for the informational campaign, a county spokesperson said. The informational campaign includes a bond website (epcounty.com/2024bond), with specific information on projects.
No private groups are advocating for the County Capital Improvement Bonds, as far as county officials know.
But a small group of fiscally conservative El Pasoans, campaigning as It’s OK to Vote No on Bonds‑El Paso, is opposing the county bonds and county-owned University Medical Center of El Paso’s $397 million projects bond issue because property taxes would increase, said Guadalupe Giner, the group’s leader. Housing rents also would go up, she said.
If all five county bond propositions and the UMC bond issue were approved by voters, homeowners would see their property taxes increase an average $132 a year for many years.
The El Paso County Republican Party also is opposing the bonds and the city’s proposition to cancel $128.5 million in bonds for the never-built Downtown multipurpose arena. Voting “for” the city’s Proposition A ends the city’s arena dream.
Voters can see the ballot order of the bond propositions and political races via a personalized ballot on the El Paso County Elections Department website.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X