City Manager and capital projects staff briefed the Richardson City Council on preliminary planning for a possible 2026 bond program and presented a conservative financing model that would generate roughly $200 million in new issuance without increasing the tax rate if current assumptions hold.

Mr. Don Magner and capital‑projects staff described the timeline and a “blocking exercise” that maps dollars to broad categories rather than final projects. Using conservative property‑value and interest‑rate assumptions, staff reported capacity near $200 million and proposed sample allocations that would fund roughly $130 million for streets, alleys and traffic/mobility projects; about $15 million for sidewalks; $15 million for drainage; and $20 million each for parks and facilities. Staff cautioned that large drainage projects can exhaust smaller drainage allocations and that facilities requests — including a possible Fire Station 7 decision — will be evaluated separately.

Magner asked council for guidance on priorities (infrastructure focused, parks/aquatics emphasis, or facilities emphasis) and outlined the schedule: staff will present proposition overviews at council meetings in December, refine proposals through the holidays, present a recommended package in January and return with final propositions before the statutory call‑for‑election deadline (staff noted Feb. 9 as a scheduling benchmark for a May referendum). Council members emphasized infrastructure and drainage as priorities, requested at least one public input touchpoint after initial proposition presentations and asked staff to present clearly prioritized, shovel‑ready projects that reflect prior master‑plan work.

Ending: Staff will prepare detailed project lists for the December briefings, incorporate two public feedback opportunities into the schedule, and return to council with refined propositions in January.