Chesterfield County Bond Referendum
 On
Tuesday, Nov. 2, Chesterfield County citizens overwhelmingly approved
the 2004 Bond Referendum. The county is now authorized to issue
general obligation bonds totaling $341 million for School, Public
Safety, Library, Parks and Recreation, and Road improvement projects
over the next seven years.
Voters overwhelmingly approved a similar bond
referendum in 1996. The results included a new emergency
communications system, new fire and rescue stations, new schools
and school renovations, new libraries, new or expanded parks
and other park improvements and other projects that are meeting
public needs today.
The projects outlined in this bond referendum were selected to
maintain Chesterfield County’s quality of life. These projects
represent input gained through community meetings and public hearings
by both the Board of Supervisors and the School Board.
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BOND FUNDING |
CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM OTHER
SOURCES |
Schools |
$231.2 million |
$38.6 million* |
Public
Safety |
$15.3 million |
$9.8 million |
Libraries |
$35.6 million |
$5.9 million |
Parks
and
Recreation |
$19.7 million |
$10.4 million |
Roads |
$40 million |
** |
TOTAL |
$341.7 million |
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* An additional 34.8 million of capital reserve
will be used to support technology for classrooms and to support
student performance throughout the school division.
** The county will continue to seek customary federal and state funds
to supplement some of these projects.
No tax rate increase
Local governments such as Chesterfield County periodically issue
general obligation bonds to fund projects that will benefit citizens
long-term. This referendum, like the one in ’96, would not
result in a tax rate increase due to the county’s financial
and debt-management policies, which incorporate spending plans
for both capital projects and debt service. These plans provide
sufficient funds to repay the bonds without a tax rate increase,
based on the county’s adopted Capital Improvement Program
for fiscal years 2005 through 2011. In fact, Chesterfield County
has cut the real-estate tax rate twice since the last bond referendum – from
$1.09 to $1.08 in 1998 and to $1.07 in 2002.
“AAA” Bond Rating
Chesterfield County maintains the most favorable bond ratings
from the nation’s top three bond-rating agencies. The “AAA” rating
means that Chesterfield County can get lower interest rates on
the bonds it issues compared to other localities with less-favorable
bond ratings. Many of the capital projects proposed under the bond
referendum would be partially paid for with $64.7 million in contributions
from other funding sources, such as general-revenue fund revenues,
grants and cash proffers. These funds are used similar to a down
payment that someone makes when buying a new home or automobile.
General-fund revenue contributions are possible because the county
sets aside 5 percent of its general fund to pay for capital improvements.
Chesterfield County Public Schools does the same in its budget.
If approved by voters, the bonds from this referendum would be
issued over seven years, beginning in 2005, as the projects outlined
in the plan are started.
Bond Referendum Items
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