Most Kerrville citizens understand that one of the primary functions of local government is to provide and support a public safety department that will serve and protect the community in which we live. Support would include providing funding for the tools and facilities required for police and fire protection within our city.
This is why, as a citizen, it is so disturbing to discover that the police station has been allowed to fall into disrepair after years of neglect. When the current Kerrville mayor and city council leadership took office, they apparently inherited a plan that was scheduled to address these shortcomings once and for all with a bond election in the fall of 2019.
A previous council had taken steps to identify the needs of stakeholders in preparation for defining a Public Safety Complex project that was to be placed on a bond election in either November 2019 or May 2020.
For reasons that remain unclear, Mayor Bill Blackburn chose to lead the city to re-prioritize public safety, which is a necessity, below elective projects, such as parks, the River Trail extension, Arcadia Theater renovations and sidewalks across the Sidney Baker bridge. The Public Safety Complex project was once again placed on a back burner. The sports complex is costing the city $1.2 million per year in upkeep and debt repayment. Why are we allocating funds in this way?
Fast forward three years and the city council is now proposing to borrow $17-plus million over the next two years to fund a Public Safety Complex, without a defined project and without voter approval. What happens if there is a true emergency, and we have already maxed out our debt capacity? Then what do we do?
The benefits of a bond election over non-voter approved debt is that it forces a city to thoroughly define a project, determine a reasonable estimate of the costs and value and then bring the project to the citizens ahead of the election. This is how the Kerrville Independent School District proceeded with its bond for the new middle school. It is how Kerr County handled the jail expansion in 2016. And it is how Kerr County is proceeding with its upcoming facilities bond election.
The city of Kerrville has issued millions in debt over the years, unfortunately, none of that debt has been placed on a bond election since 1987. Why does the city insist on foregoing the forward-looking planning that is required to hold a bond election?
A conversation implies two-way dialogue, and the city claimed they were “beginning a conversation” with the public when they made notification to borrow $7 million. By petitioning to place this debt issue on a bond election, the citizens are simply requesting to be a player in the conversation.
–Bethany Puccio, community organizer for www.LetUsVoteKerrville.com