Forney Vote NO New Taxes

Forney Vote NO New Taxes The City of Forney has proposed a bond on the November 3, 2026 ballot for a library and rec center.

We feel public safety should be the priority and hope you join us in voting "NO!" to new taxes until public safety is addressed.

FORNEY, THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.Indianola, Iowa should be a case study every Forney taxpayer looks at before voting on ...
09/03/2026

FORNEY, THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.

Indianola, Iowa should be a case study every Forney taxpayer looks at before voting on the proposed bond.

In 2013, Indianola opened a new 62,000-square-foot recreation facility. The city owned the building, while the YMCA operated it.

Sound familiar?

According to the YMCA, the Indianola location never generated enough revenue to cover its operating expenses. The YMCA subsidized the facility year after year.

Eventually, the YMCA decided it could no longer continue.

On July 29, 2023, the YMCA ended operations at the facility.

But here's the part taxpayers should pay very close attention to:

The city's financial obligation didn't leave with the YMCA.

When the YMCA stopped operating the facility, Indianola taxpayers were still paying debt associated with the building.

The city was left with both sides of the equation:

Keep paying the debt on the facility — AND take responsibility for operating and maintaining it.

The city took over the very next day, and the former YMCA is now operated by the City of Indianola as the Indianola Wellness Campus.

That's exactly why we've been asking these questions in Forney.

We're being asked to approve millions of dollars in bond debt for a building that city leaders hope will include a YMCA partnership, yet we've been told there is no finalized YMCA contract currently in place.

What happens if an agreement is never reached?

What happens if the YMCA operates it for five or ten years and decides it no longer makes financial sense?

The bond doesn't disappear because the YMCA leaves.

Indianola shows us what can happen: taxpayers can still be paying for the building while their city suddenly becomes responsible for its maintenance and operations too.

This doesn't mean Forney will have the same outcome. But it proves the concern isn't hypothetical.

Before we put taxpayers into decades of debt, we deserve to know who will operate this facility, what the agreement with the YMCA actually says, what happens if they leave, and exactly what taxpayers could be responsible for if they do.

Get the agreement first. Get the answers first. Then ask taxpayers for the money, not the way they have done it now.

Join us and VOTE NO on November 3rd.

THERE IS NO YMCA ON THE BOND.This is an important distinction that Forney voters need to understand before November.Some...
08/19/2026

THERE IS NO YMCA ON THE BOND.

This is an important distinction that Forney voters need to understand before November.

Some council members continue to talk about this bond as though voters are approving a YMCA and a library.

That's not what is on the bond.

The bond is for a building containing two separate components under one roof: a library and a recreation center.

As of the August 11, 2026 City Council meeting, there was no contract in place with the YMCA. The Assistant City Manager confirmed that during the meeting.

The City would like to partner with the YMCA. But wanting a partnership and having a signed agreement are two very different things.

What happens if negotiations fail? What if the City and YMCA can't agree on acceptable terms?

The City could be left responsible for operating and maintaining the recreation center itself.

Councilwoman Sarah Salgado stated that scenario could cost the City approximately $800,000 PER YEAR.

And that raises another question:

If the YMCA agreement doesn't happen, where does that $800,000 every year come from? Will taxpayers eventually be asked to pay more?

There are simply too many unanswered questions:

• Who ultimately pays for maintenance and operations?
• Who pays for staffing?
• What would the YMCA lease actually require?
• How much would the YMCA pay the City?
• What guarantees would protect taxpayers?
• What happens if the YMCA leaves after a few years?
• Who operates the recreation center then?
• How does the City recoup its investment if the partnership doesn't work out?

These aren't small details. They're fundamental questions that should be answered BEFORE asking taxpayers to approve $49.5 million in new debt.

Right now, the only thing voters can actually count on is this:

If the bond passes, the City will have funding to build a facility containing a library and a recreation center.

A YMCA partnership may be the City's plan — but without a signed contract, it isn't a guarantee.

We shouldn't approve tens of millions of dollars based on what might happen later.

Our position remains that Forney's public safety concerns should be addressed first. Once those critical needs and their costs are understood, the City should take the time to develop a well-planned, thoughtfully designed bond proposal for a library and recreation center and bring it before the voters.

Forney deserves a library and recreation center proposal that has been properly planned, with the costs, partnerships and long-term obligations worked out before it reaches the ballot — not a proposal hurried onto the ballot with major questions still unanswered.

🔴 PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST. GET THE DETAILS RIGHT. THEN LET THE VOTERS DECIDE.
🔴 VOTE NO ON THE LIBRARY/REC CENTER $49.5 MILLION BOND — NOVEMBER 3RD.

VOTE NO — NOVEMBER 3, 2026On August 11th, the Forney City Council voted to place a $49.5 million bond proposition on the...
08/17/2026

VOTE NO — NOVEMBER 3, 2026

On August 11th, the Forney City Council voted to place a $49.5 million bond proposition on the November 3rd ballot.

Voting FOR:
James Traylor, Jay Weatherford & Sarah Salgado

Voting AGAINST:
Zahnd Schlensker, Cecil Chambers & Greg Helm

With Council split 3–3, Mayor Jason Roberson cast the deciding vote in favor of moving the proposition forward.

Simply putting this proposition before voters comes at a cost to taxpayers. If approved in November, the $49.5 million in new debt would also have to be repaid by taxpayers.

We believe a library and recreation center can be important investments in Forney. But this isn't about whether those things have value. It's about PRIORITIES and TIMING.

Council has also been working toward a public safety bond for spring 2027. We believe public safety should come first.

Before asking residents to take on tens of millions of dollars in debt for a library and recreation center, we should know what it's going to cost to properly fund our police, fire and other critical public-safety needs.

This November bond was put together too quickly and pushed ahead of public safety. We don't believe that reflects the priorities of Forney residents.

Our position is simple:

🔴 PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST.
🔴 KNOW THE TOTAL COST BEFORE TAKING ON MORE DEBT.
🔴 VOTE NO ON THE $49.5 MILLION BOND — NOVEMBER 3RD.

We can support a library and recreation center while still saying this is not the right time, the right order, or the right way to do it.

Vote NO in November. Let's get our priorities right first.

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Forney, TX
75126

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