Raleigh: Residents vote Nov. 3 on $203 million in housing and transportation bonds

Raleigh residents will vote Tuesday, Nov. 3, on two separate bond questions, one for housing and one for transportation.

Each question asks for $101.5 million. Together they would let the city borrow up to $203 million, the City of Raleigh says on its 2026 bond page. The city says it can do that without raising property taxes.

The questions are not combined. A voter can support one and oppose the other.

In-person early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 15. Only registered voters who live inside the city limits vote on these city bonds, the city's Bonds 101 page says. This site is not an elections office.

Housing, $101.5 million

The city lists four uses:

• $57.6 million for housing development and preservation, described as building new affordable housing and keeping affordable housing that already exists.
• $10.4 million for homebuyer help and related preservation work, including programs the city says are meant to help seniors stay in their homes and to assist eligible buyers at or below 80 percent of area median income.
• $21.5 million held as a reserve for major redevelopment of city-owned sites.
• $12 million for homelessness response through Wake at Home, a public-private partnership coordinated by the Wake County Continuum of Care. The city says that work includes closing homeless encampments and connecting people living outside to housing and services.

Transportation, $101.5 million

The city lists three uses:

• $51.5 million for three road projects: Marsh Creek Road and Trawick Road-West, Ebenezer Church Road, and general-purpose lanes along the Southern Bus Rapid Transit corridor that do not qualify for federal money.
• $40 million for plans City Council has already adopted. That includes the Big Jump, which the city describes as more than 5 miles of sidewalks and 50 miles of bikeways on a five-year timeline as part of the Active Mobility Plan, and work tied to the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan at busy intersections and near schools.
• $10 million for the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program and partnerships, which the city describes as traffic calming and intersection safety on neighborhood streets and help for projects already planned.

The city says the projects named on the page are planned uses and can change, as long as any new use matches the purpose voters approved.

Why the city says taxes would not go up

Raleigh began putting money for large capital projects into a dedicated Debt Fund in the fiscal 2026 budget. It calls that approach Steady State. Sales and property taxes both feed the fund, the city says, and the amount will change from year to year.

Staff currently estimate the city can afford $203 million in debt every four years without increasing taxes. The city also notes the risk: if those tax collections fall, the amount of debt Steady State can support would fall too.

North Carolina's Bond Transparency Act requires ballot disclosures to include an estimated property-tax effect. The city says it filled in that line as $0.

The sample wording the city published is set by state law. It still says additional taxes may be levied if needed to pay the bonds. The city's own page says no additional property tax increase is required to pay these 2026 housing and transportation bonds.

If voters reject the bonds, the city says Council may look for other money. If that money is not there, the projects would not move forward.

When to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. In-person early voting in Wake County starts Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, the Wake County Board of Elections says.

The city's explanation is at raleighnc.gov/2026-bonds.