The Neighbor Comparison
Does a growing city need nearly a billion dollars in debt? Look at our neighbor, McKinney. They have 3.5x the population but carry a similar debt load. The difference in burden per family is staggering.

McKinney, TX

Celina, TX
Population Gap
McKinney has 3.5x more residents than Celina, providing a massive tax base to spread the cost of infrastructure.
The "Non-Voter" Trap
Celina has 2.6x MORE non-voter approved debt ($932M) than McKinney ($365M), circumventing citizen oversight.
Democratic Control
56% of McKinney's debt was approved by voters. In Celina, $0 has been voter-approved since 2010 — 15 years.
*Celina Data: FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget (p.108) — Total Principal & Interest: $931,876,900.
*McKinney Data (FY 2024 Sources): General Obligation ($469M), COs ($40M), Rev Bonds ($294M), Component Units ($31M). Total: $835,521,085.
