Now that the town has finally posted the basics of the $40 million transportation bond referendum, which will increase our municipal tax rate by 11%, we can take a look at the nuances in this proposal.
The town has categorized the various projects into two groups: “Green” Bond Funded Projects and “Purple” Bond and Partner Funded projects. The Green projects are those which the NCDOT would typically not participate in, therefore, they would be completely funded by the bond. They have estimated this to be about $16M. This includes roads in places where developers would have funded the improvements as well as some residential street extensions.
The larger $24M portion for the Purple projects is a little more misleading. These are for high dollar improvements on commuter roads which many from other towns and counties use to get to work and cause increased volume. On the town website it states that these projects “will very likely invite funding participation from NCDOT”. So if you are convinced that this bond will resolve all your morning commute issues, you may be disappointed. Since this language is so uncertain, there is no guarantee of any NCDOT funding or road improvements to alleviate these temporary volume increases.
Under the careful monitoring by the town attorney, the town will stay clear of improper campaigning for this referendum. However, we have to be careful and understand the subtle language used to convince us that this will solve any rush hour inconveniences. This is a lot of money to save 5-10 minutes on a morning or evening commute for people passing through Holly Springs.
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