The Arlington Chamber of Commerce's board of directors on Sept. 25 voted to support the transportation/Metro and school bonds on the Arlington ballot in November.
On Nov. 4, Arlington voters will be asked to approve $60.24 million in bond funding for a variety of transportation, road, transit and pedestrian projects, as well as $105.78 million for Arlington Public Schools projects.
The chamber's support for the bonds was conditioned on assurances from government leaders that the extra debt incurred would not imperil the county government's AAA/AAA/Aaa bond ratings.
The transportation and education bonds also won the support of the Arlington Chamber's Government Affairs and Economic-Development Committee, which recommended their approval to the board of directors.
Two other bond referendums will be on the Nov. 4 ballot, for parks/recreation and community infrastructure. Because these bond issues are not directly tied to economic development, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce's board of directors has not taken a position on them.
The transportation bond will not include funding for the Columbia Pike streetcar project. The chamber supports transit improvements in the region, but has not taken a position on the Columbia Pike project.