Mayor hopes to issue $1.5B in voter-approved bonds by next spring

Some Houston Police Department vehicles were out of service for a variety of reasons last week. Some Houston Police Department vehicles were out of service for a variety of reasons last week. Photo: James Nielsen, Staff Photo: James Nielsen, Staff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Mayor hopes to issue $1.5B in voter-approved bonds by next spring 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Houston voters just approved a $1 billion pension bond and $495 million in improvement bonds – enthusiastically, as the measures won with lopsided margins.

So, when will those dollars be put to use?

Mayor Sylvester Turner said he hopes to issue the pension bonds -- $750 million of which will go to the police pension and $250 million of which will be given to the municipal workers’ fund – by the end of the year.

The new public improvement bonds likely will be put to use in the spring, he said.

Topping that list are new vehicles for the police, fire and solid waste departments, Turner said.

When his security detail’s car got a flat tire recently, the mayor said, a police officer came to transport him to the event instead, and he was surprised to feel the car shaking.

The mayor recalled the conversation:

“I said, ‘Man, how old is this car?’ And he said, ‘A 2003.’ I said, ‘You can’t catch nobody in a 2003!’ And he said, ‘But mayor, this is what you gave me.’ The point is well made. We can at least start purchasing more vehicles and not just relying on maintenance,” he said. “We can’t ask first responders to be out there and they’re driving around in equipment that’s not reliable.”

At his election night party, Turner also said solid waste trucks have stalled in neighborhoods while picking up trash.

“The average age of the fleet is about 10 years old,” he said. “These trucks are making many, many runs and the maintenance costs have been increasing because we can’t afford new equipment.”

Houston voters in the 2001, 2006 and 2012 bond elections approved $247 million in road bonds that remain unissued, largely because voters in 2010 chose to shift away from debt financing and charge a monthly drainage fee on property owners to pay for those improvements instead. Another $25 million in housing bonds dating back to 2001 remain unused.

Voters in the last bond election in 2012 authorized $122 million in park bonds, $116 million in public safety bonds, $43 million in general improvement bonds and $11 million in library bonds that city council has not taken steps to issue. (See page 46 of this report.)

Those dollars, along with the $495 million authorized on Tuesday, will not begin collecting interest until council approves them and city departments make the associated purchases or payments.