NAMPA, IDAHO — The City of Nampa is educating locals on a new transportation bond, which will be very similar to the previous transportation bond that began in 2004.
- The City of Nampa is educating the public on a new transportation bond.
- For more info on what this bond will fund, click here.
- For our previous story on this bond, click here.
- For an example of the Canyon County Ballot, click here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
The primary election is getting closer and in Canyon County neighbors will be voting on a transportation bond. I'm your neighborhood reporter Alexander Huddleston in downtown Nampa where one of the biggest projects funded by the bond hopes to reduce downtown congestion by 75%.
"Trying to get around Nampa is a pain in the finger," exclaimed a local.
In 2004 Canyon County voters put in a 20-year-long bond contracted to help fund city projects; Widening roads, fixing sidewalks, and clearing traffic congestion. But that bond only lasts until August. So the city of Nampa is hoping voters will approve a new transportation bond in the May primary.
Mark Steuer for the City of Nampa said, "This is essentially renewing that bond for a term of 20 years so that we can collect $38 million towards some very important projects here in the city."
I asked voters at Nampa’s Cinco de Mayo festival what they thought of the bond.
A local explained, "I'm a newcomer here to Nampa. I moved here three years ago and one of the things I don't like about it is the traffic."
"It's really bad to travel down here and try to get to eleventh. You get stuck down here, you have to memorize your way around. There are a lot of accidents because people don't know there are one-way streets," said another.
If it passes, residents will continue paying roughly $50 a year but with the previous levy already in their budget, most people I talked to didn't seem to mind.
"There will be no increase in your property tax on what people pay today or what they will pay in the years following," said Steuer.
"One of the projects we pay for already and they are not going to raise anymore," explained a local.
Another finished by saying, "A small amount to pay to make the streets of Nampa better. Make it a better community to get around in."
"Improving traffic in and through Nampa is a priority for our citizens, so that is what this project is targeted at," Steuer explained.
The city says the biggest goal of this bond is to continue improving the roadways of Nampa without raising taxes.
