FAQ’s

GO bonds are commonly used by municipalities to fund public improvement and infrastructure projects using a secondary property tax to retire the bonds. Similar to a home mortgage, selling bonds allows municipalities to build a facility or public infrastructure project now, and then pay for them over time. The 2024 Sahuarita Bond Program will appear on the November 5, 2024 General Election ballot as Proposition 403. Learn more on the About Bonds page.

Municipalities typically collect two types of property taxes. Primary property taxes are generally used to support the maintenance and operation budgets for local governments, such as towns, cities, counties, school districts, and community college districts. Secondary property taxes are generally used to pay for bond issues, budget overrides, and special districts.

A group of potential projects were proposed by Town staff based on the results of community planning processes and public input. In 2023, the Town conducted a community survey seeking feedback on parks, recreation facilities, amenities, and future planning. Based on the survey (results available at https://sahuaritaaz.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8950/PROS-Master-Plan), Town staff recommendations and Mayor and Council input, the proposed projects addressing Sahuarita's recreational and infrastructure needs were selected and Prop 403 was placed on the November 5, 2024 ballot.

The Town will levy a secondary property tax at the rate of $0.8850 per $100 of net assessed limited property value. For a residential property with the assessed value of $232,067, this would amount to $17.12 per month in secondary property taxes. Learn more about the tax impact here.

Arizona law requires that bonds that are payable from Town property taxes be voter-approved. These bonds are commonly called “general obligation” or “GO” bonds. A general obligation bond is a contract between a bondholder, who, in effect, lends the Town money and the Town, which pledges to repay it with interest. Repayment is by secondary property taxes levied on all taxable property in the Town.

No, Prop 403 will not result in an increase in HOA fees. If approved by voters, the projects will be funded through a secondary property tax levied on all residential, commercial, agricultural and other vacant properties in the Town.

The Sahuarita Mayor and Council considered both separating and packaging the projects together. Given that all the projects aim to improve quality of life, enhance police/public safety, and delay the need to build new, more costly Town facilities, and given the support shown for all these projects in the community survey, they decided that a single bond package would be the better option. Visit Building the Bond Package for more information about the process that informed the creation of Prop 403.