With a population of over 200,000 people, Frisco is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. To help fund future capital improvement projects, the city has placed five propositions, totalling $473 million, on the May 6 ballot. 

“We’re named the number one place to live, great schools, you know, just kind of a thriving area,” Mayor Jeff Cheney said. “It’s a place where people want to live, it’s a place where people want to invest their money, and certainly do business with.”

If approved by citizens, the bonds would fund several public projects such as the most notable Firefly Park Project – a mixed use park by Wilks Development that encompasses 30 acres of park space, 2,200 residential units and 650,000 square feet of office space surrounding a 200-room boutique hotel. 

“These bonds would be used to fund multiple projects aimed at helping to improve the city of Frisco,” senior Srividya Nalladdhighal said. “Because of that It’s important that decisions regarding how much and where this funding goes are made by the citizens that would experience the benefits or consequences of these projects.”

The bond package would allow the city to fund projects without raising property tax rates.

“The consistent population growth in Frisco helps keep the tax rate steady,” Frisco Chief Financial Officer Anita Cothran said in an interview with Community Impact. “More people moving into the area and paying city taxes helps chip away at the debt without needing to raise property taxes.”

Frisco ISD may also be looking at presenting a bond package to voters to further fund the school district. 

“Education is a community service and we know that communities that have higher levels of education have lower levels of crime, poverty and so having a robust, well-funded education system helps everyone in the end,” AP Government teacher Amanda Peters said. “Even if you don’t have kids in the school district because you still benefit from the school district being a great place to live and learn.”

In the eyes of Cheney, anything that benefits Frisco ISD, will benefit the city as well.  

“The line I’ve used for over a decade now is really the ceiling of any community is set by the quality of the schools and with us having that as an asset, then it makes [developing] easier,” Cheney said. “We know if we’re gonna attract Dr. Pepper or a fortune 500 company that, you know, it’s important to them that their employees basically have access to great schools.”