Temple Terrace is getting ready to put one of its biggest building sprees in years in front of voters, asking residents to sign off on up to $50 million in bonds for a new police headquarters, a third fire station and other city facilities. Council members were expected to take a final vote on the bond ordinance at a second reading Tuesday, which would lock the question onto the Aug. 18 primary ballot. City officials say the plan represents one of the largest capital investments the city has taken on in a long time.
What the bond would pay for
The general-obligation bond, capped at $50 million, would largely bankroll a new joint public-safety complex on a five-acre parcel at 7911 Harney Road. Current plans call for a three-story, 33,000-square-foot police headquarters alongside an 11,000-square-foot Fire Station 3. Just putting up those two buildings is expected to run about $45 million, and the land itself was bought in 2024 for roughly $1.6 million, according to the Tampa Beacon. City leaders say money from the bond could only be spent on bricks-and-mortar public-safety projects, not day-to-day operations.
What it would cost homeowners
To give residents a sense of the hit to their tax bill, city staff walked through sample financing that pegs initial debt service at about 0.90 to 0.98 mills on a 30-year bond. Local estimates translate that into roughly $180 to $185 a year for a home with a $200,000 assessed value, figures that came up in council workshops and were reported by LocalLens. Officials stress that the true number will depend on interest rates when the bonds are sold, the timing of the borrowing and whether annexations change the size of the city’s tax base.
PFAS cleanup would be billed differently
While all that unfolds, Temple Terrace is handling PFAS contamination in its water system on a different financial track. Any treatment or filtration upgrades are expected to be covered by a revenue bond paid back through water and sewer rates rather than through voter-approved general-obligation debt. City water information notes that consultants are slated to bring forward treatment options this summer, with early estimates putting remediation costs in the low tens of millions of dollars. The city has hired outside legal counsel to chase settlement money and says it will look for grants and low-interest loans before turning more heavily to ratepayers, according to the City of Temple Terrace.
Next steps and public outreach
The council already advanced the bond ordinance at a first reading on April 7 and is set to decide on final approval Tuesday. If it passes, the bond question will officially land on the Aug. 18 primary ballot, city officials say. Ahead of that vote, the city plans town halls and informational materials, and neighborhood groups or homeowners associations can request briefings through the city’s website, the Tampa Beacon reported. Ultimately, it will be up to voters to decide whether to underwrite what officials describe as a 30- to 40-year bet on the city’s public safety and emergency response capacity.
