“SHALL the City Council of the City of Amarillo, Texas, be authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the City in the principal amount of $20,080,000 for permanent public improvements and public purposes, to wit:  acquiring, constructing, improving, renovating, expanding and equipping public safety facilities; such bonds to mature serially or otherwise over a period not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from their date, to be issued and sold in one or more series at any price or prices and to bear interest at any rate or rates (fixed, floating, variable or otherwise) as shall be determined within the discretion of the City Council at the time of issuance or sale of the bonds; and whether ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon all taxable property in the City sufficient to pay the annual interest and provide a sinking fund to pay the bonds at maturity?”

Proposition 2 on the Nov. 8 Amarillo municipal election ballot

I don’t know this to be a stone-cold fact, but it’s probably true.

Ask any resident of any city of significant size about the issue that concerns them the most, they well might answer it has something to do with police and fire protection.

If the city is going to provide top-flight law enforcement and fire protection services, then it falls on the residents who demand it to pay for it.

Makes sense, yes?

Sure it does!

Proposition 2 proposes to spend $20 million on improvements to police and fire services.

It seeks to add new fire stations, replacing current stations that no longer are functional. It seeks to spend nearly $500,000 on assorted “police service improvements.”

This proposition likely will get voters’ endorsement when they go to the polls on Nov. 8. The city has pitched seven ballot measures at residents, asking them to support them all at a cost of more than $340 million. The public safety element is but a fraction of the total cost.

However, public safety always remains at the top of voters’ concerns about the level of government they get from City Hall.

http://amarillo.gov/pdf/CIP_list_for_ballot_resolution.pdf

My hope is that this proposition gets the voters’ wholehearted approval in November.

If we are going to insist on top-of-the-line public safety services, we have to be ready to pay for it.