Richardson City Manager Dan Johnson will be the main speaker on Thursday, October 8, 2015 for an Informational Meeting. Mr. Johnson will discuss the four bond proposals and the 83 City Charter revisions in the upcoming November 3rd election. This event is co-sponsored by the Richardson Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association and the Leadership Richardson Alumni Association.
The Informational Meeting will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Richardson located at 503 N. Central Expressway, Richardson, TX (west side of Central Expressway between Belt Line and Arapaho Road) – signs will direct you to the meeting room. Doors will open at 6:30 and the presentation will start at 6:45 pm.
The Bond Issue includes four different proposals to renovate, update, replace or rehab public buildings, streets, parks and sidewalks. If approved by the voters, $115 million in bonds would be sold to finance these projects and it will be done with NO tax rate increase.
The 83 City Charter amendment proposals were recommended by an 11 member Charter Review Commission. This review by the Commission was the first comprehensive review of the City Charter since 1989. The process took over 8 months and included two open forums to gather public feedback. Their recommendations were then presented to the City Council. Among the 83 amendments is a proposal to call a special election in the event of a mayoral vacancy and another amendment that deals with the City Council appointing replacements for vacant City Council seats, unless there are two Council seats vacant which would trigger a special election to fill those vacant seats. Many of the amendments are language updates, capitalization and spelling updates and elimination of sections where state law now covers the intent.
Due to the number of bond issues and City Charter amendments on the ballot, it is important to understand all of the items on the ballot before you enter the voting booth.
The Richardson Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization whose members are graduates of the Richardson Citizen Police Academy. The Alumni Associations functions as a support group to the Richardson Police Department and acts as a liaison to the Community. For more information, please visit www.rcpaaa.org .
The Leadership Richardson Alumni Association members are all graduates of the Leadership Richardson program which is sponsored by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. They strive to serve as a catalyst for progressive and effective leadership in the Richardson community. For more information, please visit their website at www.lralumni.com .