The Greensboro City Council will take the next step in placing $135 million in bonds on the ballot for the 2022 election at the Tuesday, July 20 meeting.

The City Council has three choices on when to put the bonds on the ballot. 

They could be placed on the ballot for the primary March 8.  This will be the primary for the City Council election, which is nonpartisan, and also primaries will be held for statewide races in the Republican and Democratic parties.  The US Senate race will be on that ballot as well as the state House and state Senate and county races. 

The City Council could also choose to place the bonds on the City Council general election ballot.  The general election will be held on the same day as the runoff primary for the state and county offices and, depending on which races have a runoff primary, that election will either be in April or May.

The City Council could also choose to place the bonds on the ballot for the Nov. 2, 2022 general election. 

However, since the original plan was to have the bonds voted on during the City Council election this fall, it seems unlikely the City Council would want to delay the bond vote for a full year.

Voter turnout is expected to be much higher for the primary in March than the City Council general election in April or May and that will likely play into the council’s decision.

At the Tuesday, July 20 meeting the City Council is expected to pass resolutions to authorize $30 million in Housing Bonds, $70 million in Parks and Recreation Bonds, $14 million in Firefighting Facilities Bonds, $6 million in Law Enforcement Bonds and $15 million in Transportation Bonds.

The resolution states, “That taxes shall be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on said bonds.”

The city staff is projecting that a tax increase will be needed to pay for the bonds, if they all are approved by the voters.