NORTH PORT, Fla. — The city of North Port could decide whether city leaders can borrow money to fund big-ticket upgrades in the future.
City leaders are hoping voters can help by approving a referendum on the ballot this November to amend the city's charter so it can borrow money.
An ongoing roof repair at the North Port Police Department and plans to build a new state-of-the-art multi-floor police complex are examples of why the city said that borrowing authority is needed. City leaders say as the need for infrastructural upgrades grows, city budgets alone can't cover the costs.
Many North Port neighbors, however, said they are just learning about the clause in the city's 1959 charter that restricts borrowing, and opinions on the issue differ.
"This is kind of ludicrous. If you're starting a business, you're going to need to borrow, like there's no way about it, you have to borrow so I'm good with it," North Port resident Brendan Carr said.
"Borrowing money is the last resort. I can see borrowing money for young people, first-time home buyers, and first-time car buyers but I don't see why a city would need to borrow money," Ron Hudson, another resident, said.
"We need it now because we are at the point in our life, as a city of 65 years, where our infrastructure is deteriorating," Jerome Fletcher, manager of the city of North Port, said.
The city was created by the General Development Corporation with only 180 people in 1959 and now has around 85,000 residents.
"A lot of development, a lot of stores coming in, a lot of people you know. There used to be just like four-way stops on every corner, now we have traffic lights and stuff. I remember when there was only one Publix. There used to just be one Publix and a gas station and it has grown quite a bit," Carr recalled.
City officials say other GDC-created cities have since ditched restrictive borrowing clauses; North Port is the only one in Florida that hasn't.
"We have been a pay-as-you-go community and now we are at the point where we can no longer afford large-scale infrastructure projects, therefore borrowing authority is best needed," Fletcher said.
Fletcher said the list of infrastructure includes a new police department which is set to cost the city $122 million.
However, the city is only just now getting around to fixing the roof of the current police department building which was damaged nearly 2 years ago by Hurricane Ian.
"The city is not prepared to be able to support any other major hurricane that comes through the city of North Port without borrowing authority. The city will not be able to repair itself. There will be a lot of problems growing as fast as we are and getting as much publicity as we are. It would be an even worse story to say that we were financially incapable of taking care of this fast-growing city," Fletcher added.
City officials said currently they have more than $1.8 billion worth of infrastructure and capital projects that require avenues of funding within the next 15 years. They plan to embark on educating the community about the referendum ahead of the November elections.