The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved calling an election for two propositions on the November 7, 2023, General Election ballot. The first is for voters to decide on whether or not to authorize the issuance of bonds not to exceed $825 million for roads, and the second is for issuing bonds not to exceed $59 million for parks. If approved by the voters, Williamson County estimates that the two bond propositions will not result in an increase in the county’s debt service tax rate of $.1339 per $100 of valuation. Read the order calling the bond election here.
Williamson County is the third fastest growing county in Texas with a population of more than 700,000. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) projects that Williamson County’s population will reach just under a million people by 2030.
On March 28, 2023, the Commissioners Court appointed a Citizens Bond Committee that met six times from March through June to evaluate whether or not the county should consider bond elections for roads and parks. In the end, the committee unanimously approved recommending calling the election and suggested road projects totaling more than $1.6862 billion and parks projects totaling just over $78.96 million. Review information on the Citizens Bond Committee here.
“We thank the Citizens Bond Committee for their work in compiling their list of projects and making their recommendation. In the end, we selected projects with safety and improved mobility as the priority for our list to present to the voters,” said County Judge Bill Gravell.
Williamson County voters have previously approved the sale of bonds for roads and parks in 2000, 2006, 2013 and 2019. In those elections, county voters passed bond packages for roads that constructed a total of 247 projects adding 376 new capacity lane miles and completed nearly 854 lane miles. The park bonds secured 4,843.86 acres of parks and preserves, 52 miles of trails, and expanded facilities at the Expo Center and at county parks.
More information on the bond election is available here.