City of Mesa Question 1 — General Obligation Bond: Enhance Public Safety ($150,000,000) (Maricopa County)
Ballot measure · November 3, 2026 · Mesa voters
Results: the official election results site. Counts are unofficial until certified.
- What it does
- Shall Mesa be authorized to issue and sell $150,000,000 of general obligation bonds to provide funding to support fire and medical, police, and public safety improvements, facilities, and communication systems, associated equipment, apparatuses, and technology, municipal improvements that support community and public safety, and acquisition of land for such purposes?
- A YES vote means
- Mesa could issue $150,000,000 in general obligation bonds for fire, medical, police and public safety improvements, facilities, communication systems, equipment and technology, and land for these purposes.
- A NO vote means
- Mesa would not be authorized to issue these $150,000,000 in public safety bonds.
- Needed to pass
- A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
- Left–right lean
- Not a left–right issue: a procedural or local question that liberals and conservatives don't typically split on (AI read of the official ballot summary).
Explained
Today
- Mesa pays for large building and equipment projects partly with voter-approved general obligation (GO) bonds, which are repaid from a secondary property tax. As of June 1, 2026, the city had $497,555,500 of outstanding GO debt in its 20% constitutional debt-limit category and $15,004,500 in its 6% category, according to Resolution No. 12538.
- The city lists needs including a fleet and warehouse complex at the West Mesa Service Center that maintains police and fire vehicles, the Central Police Station, public safety training space, the TOPAZ public safety radio system and land for future fire stations.
If it passes
- A 'yes' vote lets the city issue and sell up to $150,000,000 in GO bonds for fire, medical, police and public safety facilities, communication systems, equipment and technology, and land for those purposes, repaid with secondary property taxes.
- The city's planned uses: fire, medical and police training facilities ($61.5 million), Central Police Station renovation and expansion ($28.7 million), West Mesa Service Center fleet and warehouse rebuild ($40.9 million), TOPAZ radio upgrades ($10.1 million), land for future fire stations ($5.0 million) and issuance costs ($1.5 million). The city says amounts are subject to change and each project needs Council approval.
- The bonds may carry interest of up to 10% a year and each series must be repaid within 25 years of issue. The ballot says issuing them will raise property taxes enough to pay the annual debt service unless the Council provides other sources.
- Question 1 is separate from Question 2 ($135 million for transportation); each passes or fails on its own.
Example
The city estimates the average tax rate for the full 2026 bond program (Questions 1 and 2 together, $285 million) at $0.2226 per $100 of assessed limited property value. That works out to about $22.26 a year for each $10,000 of a property's assessed limited value if both questions pass. The city's bond page does not publish a separate rate for Question 1 alone.
Who would notice
Mesa property owners, who would repay the bonds through the secondary property tax, and residents served by Mesa police, fire and medical services.
How it got here
The Mesa City Council adopted Resolution No. 12538 on June 1, 2026, calling a special bond election alongside the November 3, 2026 general election with two questions totaling up to $285 million. The city says the projects were identified in its Capital Improvement Program budget process. The posted copy of the resolution does not show the vote count.
What each side says
Supporters
- Key public safety facilities are aging, including a fleet maintenance building more than 50 years old; recruits train in facilities that limit capacity during summer heat; the radio network needs modernizing; and Mesa has no land reserved for future fire stations. Supporters note that Mesa has no primary property tax, and that by law bond money pays only for buildings and equipment, not salaries. Mayor Mark Freeman, Vice Mayor Scott Somers, Councilmembers Jenn Duff and Francisco Heredia, incoming Councilmember Nick Willis, United Mesa Fire Fighters and the Mesa Police Association support it.
Opponents
- No arguments against either Mesa bond question were filed for the city's informational pamphlet, according to the East Valley Tribune, and no organized opposition campaign was found.
In the news
Background
Mesa City Council adopted Resolution No. 12538 on June 1, 2026, calling a special bond election with the November 3, 2026 general election on up to $285,000,000 in general obligation bonds in two questions: $150,000,000 for public safety and $135,000,000 for transportation.
According to the City's 2026 Bond Program page, the public safety bond's planned uses include fire, medical and police training facilities ($61.5 million), land for future fire stations ($5.0 million), public safety radio system upgrades ($10.1 million), Central Police Station renovation and expansion ($28.7 million), and rebuilding West Mesa Service Center fleet and warehouse buildings ($40.9 million); the City notes the allocation is subject to change.
The City says the projects were identified in its Capital Improvement Program budget process, and that if the 2026 Bond Program is approved the estimated average tax rate for the bonds is $0.2226 per $100 of assessed limited property value, repaid from secondary property taxes.
Next elections here
Also on Maricopa County ballots
- City of Chandler Proposition 430 — Continuation of the Local Alternative Expenditure Limitation (Home Rule)
- City of Chandler Question 1 — Granting a Franchise to Arizona Public Service (APS)
- City of Chandler Proposition 431 — Charter Amendment (Selection of the Vice-Mayor)
- City of Chandler Proposition 432 — Charter Amendment (Resign-to-Run)
- City of Chandler Proposition 433 — Charter Amendment (Eliminating Second Consideration of Ordinances)
- City of Chandler Proposition 434 — Charter Amendment (Residency of Council Appointees)
- City of Mesa Question 2 — General Obligation Bond: Transportation Improvements ($135,000,000)
- City of Mesa Question 3 — Charter Amendment: Section 209(A), Council Meeting Procedures and Public Notice
- City of Mesa Question 4 — Charter Amendment: Section 211, Ordinance Posting and Publication
- Town of Paradise Valley Proposition 426 — Permanent Base Adjustment to the Expenditure Limitation
- Town of Paradise Valley Proposition 427 — Capital Projects Accumulation Fund Exemption
- City of Avondale Proposition 418 — Public Safety Improvement Bonds ($55,000,000)
Quick answers
- What does a YES vote on City of Mesa Question 1 mean?
- Mesa could issue $150,000,000 in general obligation bonds for fire, medical, police and public safety improvements, facilities, communication systems, equipment and technology, and land for these purposes.
- What does a NO vote on City of Mesa Question 1 mean?
- Mesa would not be authorized to issue these $150,000,000 in public safety bonds.
- Can this money be used for police and fire salaries?
- No. The ballot language limits the bonds to design, construction, land, equipment and related capital costs, and supporters note that by law bond money covers buildings and equipment, not salaries.
- How long would taxpayers be paying?
- Each series of bonds must be repaid within 25 years of its issue date. The East Valley Tribune, citing the city, reports a 26-year payback period across the program and an estimated total cost of $459 million in principal and interest if both questions pass.
- Does Question 1 depend on Question 2?
- No. They are separate ballot questions: Question 1 is $150 million for public safety and Question 2 is $135 million for transportation.
- How many votes does City of Mesa Question 1 need to pass?
- A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
- Should I vote yes or no on City of Mesa Question 1?
- SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.
- When is the vote?
- The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.
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