Union County Bond Referendum - $155MM (2015, how much, schools)

[MikeyKid]

I was wondering how big the incoming referendum would be and found it in the approved minutes for the Finance committee. What does "with latitude" mean?

Capital Outlay:
Mr. Karpinski provided a Capital Outlay Proposal for 2015-2016 through 2022-2023. A total
of $392,743,464 (CCEP Plan) is listed for major projects ($232,743,464) and regular capital
outlay ($160,000,000). The committee discussed with UCPS staff the need to ask for a
County wide bond referendum. Mr. Guzman asked for a motion to direct UCPS staff to put a
bond referendum of approximately $155 million (with latitude) on the Capital Outlay proposal.
Mr. Stewart motioned to approve with Mr. Marton seconding the motion. The motion was
approved unanimously.

[UCTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by MikeyKid

I was wondering how big the incoming referendum would be and found it in the approved minutes for the Finance committee. What does "with latitude" mean?

I think in this instance they are saying since they don't have all the facts in to solidify an exact dollar amount that it is giving leeway to be less or more if need be. It's a rough estimate.

[Rancher4life]

If this bond passes, do you know how much the tax increase would be? Or would it be covered by the increase from last year? I'm afraid this is going to mean another massive tax increase.

[MikeyKid]

Originally Posted by Rancher4life

If this bond passes, do you know how much the tax increase would be? Or would it be covered by the increase from last year? I'm afraid this is going to mean another massive tax increase.

Passing the referendum is our permission to raise our taxes to pay it off. The increase from last year was long overdue because our taxes weren't increased to pay for the previous new schools. Contrary to popular opinion that taxes went up last year "due to the redistricting" - that tax increase should have happened years ago.

I was curious about what "latitude" was because it seems too open ended for me. 155... 180... 210 - what's a few more bucks to cover overruns?

It's going to be very interesting to watch the PR show to garner support for this referendum. It's a lot of money.