What is a Bond Referendum?
A bond referendum is set for Durham County voters when the Board of County Commissioners decide to use a very specific type of debt instrument; General Obligation Bonds. These bonds have the backing of the local government's ability to raise taxes enough to pay off the debt tied to the bonds. This backing must be approved by local voters, and due to their setup (the promise to pay off the debt before anything else) these particular types of bonds have the lowest interest rates (because of their low risk for default). The County does not use this type of debt financing for every type of capital projects, but most often Durham Public School projects are supported using General Obligation bond debt.