Improving Our Infrastructure

I am well aware of the importance of the need to maintain the city's infrastructure in good and reliable condition. Our water and sewer treatment facilities, the water and sewer lines, our streets, sidewalks, parks and recreation facilities and public buildings are all vital to the well being of or our city. It does no good to point to the past to explain the condition of our infrastructure except to learn from the past in order to plan to do better in the present and future.

Since I have been mayor I have worked in a systematic way to determine the condition of our infrastructure and to put a plan in place to make improvements. Over the past years we have begun to execute that plan with the help of our voters. The large capital needs required to improve the condition of our infrastructure can not be made with small annual incremental budget increases and I could not support the large property tax increase that would be needed to adequately fund those infrastructure needs. That is why I have supported leveraging our excellent triple A bond ratings and I have supported the use of General Obligation Bonds to provide the capital needed to make the substantial improvements in our infrastructure.

As a citizen and motorist I too have experienced, like many of our motorists, the poor condition of some of our streets. It was at my urging that the city council will be considering a $20 million dollar General Obligation Bond issue referendum for the upcoming November 2007 election to resurface many of our streets and pave dirt roads and sidewalk construction and repair. It is also why I have supported the necessary investment in our water and sewer infrastructure and the planning for future water reservoirs so that our present and future generations will have adequate and dependable sources of water and sewer networks for the delivery and treatment of our water and sewage.

William V. Bell Campaign Committee
P.O. Box 12535
Durham, NC 27709
(919) 768-2398