The population of Fort Worth has grown more than 30 percent since the year 2000. The positive effect of that growth can be seen all around us. New buildings, new stores and restaurants, new businesses bringing new jobs and new neighbors that have added to the fabric of an already diverse and vibrant community. But with growth also comes growing pains. Our mobility and transportation challenges grow as fast as our population. Heavy traffic that shines a light on a lack of transit options and new roads and underscores roads an obvious need of major repairs and rebuilding. We face longer commutes to community centers and libraries as new development moves further away from established city facilities. Citizens are asking for more parks and public spaces near neighborhoods. The kind of community jewels that encourage more families to get out, get active and enjoy all that our city has to offer. Fixing those problems is the biggest challenge our city faces. How can the city find money for new infrastructure, facilities and parks? If it takes one billion a year to keep city operations running day to day. City leaders have been working hard to allocate more of our existing tax revenue to debt service to allow new construction to occur. What the city does is not all that different from what you might do at your home. We make a budget and for those projects that require additional funds, we take out loans. Low interest rates mean more money can be used for construction instead of loan repayment. Every year the city council and staff look at how much money the city is expected to bring in. From those numbers, they put together a balanced budget that funds everything from after school programming to public safety. A portion of that budget, however, is dedicated to paying back our loans known as bonds. To see where you previously approved bond dollars have been invested, is as easy as following the orange construction barrels. We've added more park land, constructed new city community facilities, libraries, fire stations and police stations. Any commuter can tell you though, where most of the money is going, road construction. We are turning more dirt and fort worth than ever before, but this is the final push before our current bond dollars run out. That's why City Council has called for a bond election in May 2014. City staff's plan would raise more than 290 million for projects with the next bond sale. This new bond sale will help address much needed mobility and infrastructure challenges. In order to determine which projects need to be at the top of the list, we have spent the last year talking to citizens and listening to what you have to say. We have used this input to develop a list of projects that will address some of our most urgent needs. These projects are part of seven propositions. If approved, Proposition 1 addresses our streets and transportation improvements. This includes streets, sidewalks, traffic signals and infrastructure improvements. Proposition 2 will provide funding for parks, recreation and community center improvements. This includes park improvements, athletic fields, playgrounds and trails. Proposition 3 will allow the city to construct and equip two new libraries. Proposition 4 will address fire safety and will provide the funds for two new fire stations. Proposition 5 will improve our municipal courts. By expanding the current facility, Proposition 6 will provide funding for a new field operation service facility and the design of a new vehicle maintenance facility. The purpose is to locate equipment and crews closer to work sites across the city. Proposition 7 will provide funding for the expansion of the Silcox Animal Care and Control Facility and the design of a new animal care and control facility. All of these propositions will also provide funding for public art throughout our city. No tax increase is anticipated with the passage of the proposals.