Asheville General Obligation (GO) Bonds
Asheville General Obligation (GO) Bonds
A bond referendum allows voters to decide whether their local government can issue new debt to fund important projects. In Asheville, approved bond referendums in 2016 and 2024 involve general obligation bonds, which are secured by the City's commitment to repay them through taxes or other revenue sources.
2024 General Obligation (GO) Bond
In November 2024, Asheville voters approved four General Obligation Bond Referendums totaling $80 million. As our community continues to recover from the impacts of Tropical Storm...
2016 General Obligation (GO) Bond
In 2016 voters approved a bond referendum to finance capital improvement projects across the city. A total of $74 million was issued for projects categorized by three focus areas: $17 million for...
Projects listed below are active bond-funded projects. Click any project for more information.
Airport Road Sidewalk
The City will construct accessible sidewalk providing connection along approximately 0.6 miles of Airport Road (NC-280), including curb ramps, crosswalks, bus stop pads, and traffic signal upgrades, from...
Johnston Boulevard Sidewalk
This project includes the construction of approximately 1 mile of new 6-foot-wide sidewalk, including accessible ramps, crosswalks and drainage, along Johnston Boulevard from Patton Avenue to Johnston...
Malvern Hills Park Pool
Project OverviewThe City of Asheville is replacing the existing, aging, and unsafe municipal pool in Malvern Hills Park with a new, modern, and code-compliant aquatic facility that enhances community recreation...
New Haw Creek Road Sidewalk
This City will construct approximately 1 mile of new six-foot-wide sidewalk, including accessible ramps, crosswalks and drainage, along New Haw Creek Road from Beverly Road to Bell Road. Starting at Beverly...
West Patton Avenue Sidewalk
The City will construct approximately 0.45 miles of accessible sidewalk along the eastbound lanes of travel on Patton Avenue from Druid Avenue to Louisiana Avenue.
Swannanoa River Greenway
The Swannanoa River Greenway starts at the intersection of Lyman Street and Amboy Road and ends at the city limits located at Azalea Road and Tunnel Road. The corridor stretches 7.5 miles in length, and...
Frequently Asked Questions
A general obligation (GO) bond is a long-term borrowing tool in which a city pledges its taxing power to repay the debt over a specified term. General obligation (GO) bonds are considered one of the safest municipal funding tools available because they come with the lowest interest rates.
The purpose of a bond issue is to borrow money to finance major capital projects. A capital project is generally defined as a project expected to have a useful life of 10 or more years.
General obligation (GO) bonds are considered one of the safest municipal funding tools available. The City’s strong financial management has allowed it to achieve a Standard & Poor’s AAA and Moody’s AAA bond rating and these ratings put the City in a position to obtain some of the lowest rates on GO bonds.
The proposed bond program will provide the City more options to invest in infrastructure to meet the needs of Asheville’s rapidly growing population.
Infrastructure projects are typically funded through the City’s capital improvement program, also known as the CIP. The City’s current CIP is at capacity meaning no additional projects can be added under the current model until 2029 or later without removing projects currently in the program.
A bond referendum is a vote by the electorate to authorize the City to issue bonds to generate revenue for specific projects. There will be four bond referendums on the Nov. 5 ballot. The bond categories are Housing Affordability, Parks and Recreation, Public Safety Facilities and Transportation. In issuing general obligation bonds, a city pledges its “full faith and credit” to repay the bonds. To assure that it will meet that commitment, the bond questions on the ballot are required to ask voters to authorize a tax levy to repay the bonds if needed.
Contact
City of Asheville
Capital Management Department
828-712-3027
ashevillebonds@publicinput.com