2023 Bond – FAQs

This page will be updated throughout the coming months. Questions and feedback on the 2023 bond package can be sent to gobond@roundrocktexas.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

General obligation (GO) bonds are a form of long-term borrowing cities can use to fund major capital projects. They are backed by the full faith and credit of the issuer, including the power to tax its citizens. GO bonds must be approved by the voters.

The City of Round Rock’s AAA rating lowers the City’s borrowing costs. The City’s financial policies of maintaining adequate fund balance reserves, retiring debt in a responsible time frame, strong debt management policies and regular audits serves to keep debt per capita and net debt as a percentage of taxable property at low levels. For this reason, the City of Round Rock is able to sell bonds at a low interest rate, resulting in lower borrowing costs for the taxpayer.

Since citizens voted in favor of the two GO Bond propositions on the May 6 ballot, the City is authorized to issue up to $274 million in GO Bonds.

After voters authorized the GO Bonds, the City of Round Rock may issue them at any time to fund the projects, which would be expected to be constructed in the next five to seven years. The schedule and amount of bond issues is dependent upon the timetables, economic conditions and resources, including tax increases, needed to fund capital projects and related operating costs. The City of Round Rock may move forward or delay bond issues on these factors.  

The repayment of bonds is spread out over a number of years, so costs are shared by current and future taxpayers.

The total tax rate — including the debt rate and maintenance and operations rate as well as the debt rate — will have an impact of $0.069 on property taxes over the next five to seven years, with an estimated increase of $3-4 in monthly property taxes per year for the median homeowner. The City Council passes an annual budget and determines the final property tax rate on an annual basis.  The impact is designed to be similar in scope to the impact of the 2013 GO Bond program.

The City of Round Rock will continue to gather feedback on the bond program to inform final design decisions. Residents can email gobond@roundrocktexas.gov with questions or feedback.

When asked in the City’s biennial citywide survey what are the biggest issues facing Round Rock over the next five years, the top response was traffic, cited by 84% of respondents. The City of Round Rock is currently investing in added connectivity and capacity in Round Rock’s road network through a five-year plan called Driving Progress that is being funded primarily by Certificates of Obligation (COs), Type B sales tax and federal grant funding.

Biennial Surveys — Conducted every two years to determine issues of concern to residents and gauge resident satisfaction with various City services.

2030 Comprehensive Plan — The process of developing Round Rock 2030, the City’s 10-year Comprehensive Plan, included two years of public engagement with extensive visioning exercises.

Parks and Recreation Master Plan — This plan established priorities and provided an assessment of Round Rock’s parks and recreation system.

Recreation Center Needs Assessment — Following the findings of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, the City of Round Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department conducted a separate needs assessment for a recreation center in 2021.

2013 GO Bond projects discussion — A General Bond Advisory Commission that was charged with studying the list of proposed projects that was included in the 2013 bond package held several discussions about a phased approach for projects like the Public Safety Training Center.

The master plans and studies used to create the proposed bond package can be viewed on the Resources page. 

In November 2013, Round Rock residents approved four GO bond propositions totaling $123.6 million for capital projects to improve public safety, the library and parks and recreation. The City has used the bonds to fund (partially or entirely) a range of projects including but not limited to: three new fire stations, a new 65,000 square foot public safety training facility, improvements to Rock’N River, the Multipurpose Complex, Brushy Creek Trail from Veterans Park to Rabb Park, several parks improvements and the new Round Rock Public Library.

The City of Round Rock has had three other GO bond elections in recent history, which funded the following projects:

1996: Fire Station, Library expansion, Recreation Center, Old Settlers Park improvements, roads, vehicle shop

2001: Road, Baca Center, Police Station

2013: Library, Public Safety Training Center, Fire Stations and quality of life projects including the Multipurpose Complex and trails — learn more at roundrocktexas.gov/2013bond.

The City’s current outstanding debt is comprised of general obligation (GO) bonds, certificates of obligation (CO) debt, limited tax notes, utility revenue bonds, sales tax revenue bonds, venue tax and hotel occupancy tax revenue bonds, and leases. Learn more at roundrocktexas.gov/transparency.

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