Increasing Debt Without Voter Approval
In a candidate forum on April 15, 2021, Mrs. Summerlin explained her position on issuing debt without voter approval. While acknowledging under specific circumstances the City would be required to hold a bond election, she felt under normal circumstances it was neither required nor even advisable.
She went on to applaud the City Council for borrowing $10 million two years ago in order to repair and rebuild some streets. This of course was debt issued without voter approval using a financial mechanism (certificates of obligation) that was designed for emergency use and certainly not for long term maintenance of infrastructure.
Mrs. Summerlin explains her position on debt at candidate forum April 15, 2021.
During her service on Kerrville City Council 2016-2018, Mrs. Summerlin only had one opportunity to consider issuing debt, when considering funding the rebuild of the Legion Lift Station. And in that instance, she voted to move forward with applying for loans without voter approval. Again, this was a case of a long standing infrastructure issue that could have easily been addressed in a more comprehensive way and packaged in a voter approved bond election.
The conclusion to draw from Mrs Summerlin’s statements are that she supports issuing debt without voter approval unless it is specifically required by law to do so.