Holly Springs wants to ask its residents a $20 million question in November: how badly do they want new parks and recreational facilities?

The town is proposing a bond referendum for a significant parks spending plan for the municipal election ballot this fall.

If voters approve, the town would take up to $20 million in debt for 100 to 150 acres of park land and several facilities.

But it could come with an increase in property taxes.

Elected officials say the investment would expand a parks system crowded by new residents. The proposal comes as the economy wavers and other towns debate whether to issue new bonds.

The Holly Springs council will host a public hearing about the bonds at its Sept. 6 meeting. Early council votes to begin the process have shown unanimous support for the idea.

Mayor Pro Tem Tim Sack said new bonds would allow the town to make investments in parks before land prices increase.

The town could minimize its financial risks by taking on the debt in small chunks as necessary during the next decade, he said.

"The longer we wait for these amenities to be brought to the town the more expensive it's going to be," he said. "There is a need right now."

Town staff estimate that Holly Springs would have to raise property tax rates by up to 5 cents per $100 - or $50 for every $100,000 in home value - to pay off the debt.

The state of the economy also could complicate the picture. In June, Morrisville postponed its issuance of $4 million of parks and recreation bonds because of project delays and economic uncertainty, despite approval for the debt from voters in 2004. Morrisville Town Manager John Whitson said the town hopes to issue the bonds as early as next year. But Whitson said the town may need a tax increase to help cover the debt repayment.

Cary is deciding whether to issue $56 million worth of bonds approved by voters in 2003 before its authority expires in 2013.

If Holly Springs presses ahead and wins voter approval, early plans show the town would spend $13 million in the first three years and another $7 million by 2018.

From 2012 to 2015, the town would use $5.5 million for land; $2 million for parks, playgrounds, tennis courts and a baseball diamond; $500,000 for the completion of Jones Park; $800,000 for trails and field improvements at Womble Park; $1.2 million for new greenways; and $3 million for a standalone gym.

From 2015 to 2018, the plan calls for $2 million in park projects; $1.8 million for greenways; and $100,000 for a dog park.

Councilman Chet VanFossen said the bonds would relieve overcrowding. Even the town's $6.5 million upgrade of the W.E. Hunt Community Center, which opened last month, doesn't add enough space for the town's recreational sports leagues, he said.

"We don't have the money to do it," VanFossen said. "We have the borrowing capacity to do it."

Holly Springs Councilwoman Linda Hunt Williams said she supported the referendum and new parks projects. But she doesn't think it will be necessary to raise taxes.

"I just don't think the tax increase will ever happen if we do these projects and we do them right," she said. "Holly Springs is a growing town. As long as we're still building our economic base, we'll be just fine."

VanFossen said the voters should have the final say over any tax increases the parks projects require.

Town voters last approved new bonds for Holly Springs in 1998, when they authorized $8.1 million in loans for upgrades to the town's water infrastructure.

The town has made several park purchases this year. In June, the council approved the purchase of an 18-acre downtown lot for $550,000 and in April agreed to pay $225,000 for land near Bass Lake Park. The town also completed a $102,000 boardwalk earlier this summer, aided by $75,000 in state grants.