Fort Bend County sees early voting surge with record spending proposals on the ballot

RICHMOND, Texas (KTRK) -- Recording spending requests may be what's driving a surge in voting in Fort Bend County.

SCHOOLS DISTRICTS IN FORT BEND COUNTY ASK TAXPAYERS TO APPROVE MILLIONS IN SPENDING

Fort Bend County voters weren't greeted by campaign signs at election sites on Tuesday. Instead, the messaging was all about bond proposals.

The largest one is coming in Katy ISD, where the district wants voters to approve $860 million. But it's not the only district asking for a large sum.

Lamar Consolidated ISD wants voters to approve $15 million to improve Traylor Stadium.

"I think it's quite a lot of money. Especially when the interest rates are quite high," voter Michelle Le said.

"It's a lot, but Katy is growing, so. We're the best school district there is. I think it's important to keep it that way," voter Renee Vuchel said.

Katy ISD said it wants to build four new schools, renovate others, improve technology, build a competition swimming pool, and make repairs at Rhodes Stadium.

The district is asking $860 million, but so far, that isn't being decided by a ton of voters. The election administration says that only 7,700 Katy ISD voters participated in early voting. The district has more than 90,000 students.

SCHOOL BONDS AREN'T THE ONLY BIG PRICE TAG. FORT BEND WANTS VOTERS TO APPROVE RECORD SPENDING FOR ROADS, BRIDGES, AND PARKS.

The county wants taxpayers to approve more than $700 million for infrastructure and more than $160 million for parks. The money would go towards projects that ran out of money, new development, and improvement in technology for items like signage.

The county also wants to improve parks, build a sports complex, and create senior community centers. It's too much, though, for some.

Because of the proposals, a new group, the Taxpayer Coalition, was created. Organizers have been vocal against the projects.

They question items like a $4 million dog park. Leaders, though, say the spending is needed because the county is one of the fastest growing in the state.

"For residents who are looking at the price tag and getting sticker shock, this is us asking voters to consider all of these projects that they've been telling us they want to see done, and we've put this prioritized list together," Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy said.

"Everyone would like to have wonderful parks and mobility growth. We're for those things, but they've got to be properly involving the community and voters," The Taxpayers Coalition vice chair David Savage explained. "That's what's happened is we've just got into this bloat of spending."

The county held several informational meetings prior to Election Day. They also say they lowered the original price tag.

They were set to ask voters for more than a billion dollars. If the proposals are rejected, county officials say they may ask voters in a few years, but fear the cost to build will be even greater.

EARLY VOTING NUMBERS SHOW A SURGE IN THIS YEAR'S ELECTION

Early voting overall is up in Fort Bend County, according to data ABC13 obtained from the county election administration.

About 21,000 early voted eight years ago. That number then jumped to 28,000 four years ago. This year, early voting ballooned to nearly 47,000.

The Taxpayer Coalition believes the amount of money being asked by taxpayers might explain the increase in voters.

"It's a tremendous amount of money," Savage said. "That's the problem. Even at the federal level, we're washed with all the pandemic funding. That's what created the inflation, and now's not the time to make a big grab."

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