Vote NO on Lake Worth's General Obligation Bond

No New Property Taxes!

Vote No on Bonds

 Citizen’s Against Unfair Taxation (CAUT) supports neighborhood road repair, but opposes the Nov. 8th bond measure.

City leaders insist the only way to pay for road repair is to increase property taxes by issuing $40 million in general obligation bonds. CAUT disagrees. Saddling property owners with $69 million in bond repayments over the next thirty years is overly burdensome. Establishing a “pavement preservation” program to extend the life of streets in good condition and seeking grants for road reconstruction is a strategy CAUT supports.

Vote against the November 8th road bonds

Here’s why:

• If voters approve the bond measure, Lake Worth property owners will repay the bonds through adjustable ad valorem taxes. Lake Worth already has the 5th highest property tax rate of 38 cities in Palm Beach County; if the bond measure passes, Lake Worth will have the dubious distinction of being number one.

• The city’s tax calculation estimator assumes yearly property value increases. A real estate bust cycle puts your property at risk, as every property in the city is offered as collateral to secure bonds.

• Higher property taxes discourage business investment.

• There is a disturbing lack of information as to what type of neighborhood roads the city envisions. The city makes no commitments to preserve existing neighborhood bike lanes, enhance traffic calming, or prioritize the safety of vulnerable users on our neighborhood streets.

• Don’t assume that your neighborhood road will be repaired if the bond passes. City officials state that only 29.72 percent of neighborhood roads will be repaired with $40 million!

• Taxpayers are obligated to repay $69 million for the $40 million bond package. That’s a 72 percent penalty for paying for roads through bonds.

• While the city directs bond money at “worst first” streets, city officials make no commitment to invest in inexpensive “pavement preservation” repairs, such as crack sealing and chip sealing, to ensure “smoother, longer lasting pavements.” *

• The city’s “worst first” bond measure strategy is inherently flawed simply because for every dollar spent on pavement preservation, the city would “save six to ten dollars” that would otherwise be spent on future road “rehabilitation, or reconstruction.” ** This by itself is reason enough to vote AGAINST the 2016 road bond measure.

* FHWA Memorandum on Pavement Preservation Definitions ** At the Crossroads, Preserving Our Highway Investment John O’Doherty, National Center for Pavement Preservation.

Paid Political advertisement Paid For by Citizen's Against Unfair Taxation, 2121 Collier Ave., Lake Worth, FL  33461