This November... a $1.35 billion bond program, the largest in Dallas history, will go before voters.

          But three of the projects tacked on by city council members last week - under the heading of economic development - are worth about $12 million. And some say, they?re an irresponsible use of taxpayer money.

          One project is in a struggling neighborhood in Northeast Dallas.... the area around Forest Lane and Audelia, heavy with apartment complexes and struggling business...where many don't feel safe.

?It is a high crime area,? says Council Member Bill Blaydes.

That?s why he created a $4 million earmark for it. Seven acres in the neighborhood would be replaced with a government center: A library, a park, a county courthouse annex.

?I call it a catalyst,? says Blaydes.

          The trouble is, none of these projects are approved and ready to go.

          The city has not committed to a library or park...or the county to a courthouse. A site has not even been chosen.

          And it?s not the only bond project Blaydes has of this type. There?s another earmark for a project near Skillman and Walnut Hill.

          Also a high crime area...heavily populated with apartment complexes. For years, Blaydes has worked to attract developers to create new businesses, homes, retail. He?s come close, but none of the projects would fly. The numbers wouldn?t work.

          Blaydes says one is close. It would be near a future DART light rail station, and $4.6 million for a park, could clinch the deal.

          But again...no deal is in hand, and DART says the station isn't financed or even scheduled for construction.

          ?Its a timing thing, which comes first, the chicken or the egg,? says Blaydes.

          But the add ons to the Bond Project are disturbing to Council Mitchell Rasansky. He says bond money should not be used for speculative projects.

          Mitchell Rasansky says bond money should not go for speculative projects.

?We need to show our hand to the public, the citizens of Dallas who are paying these bonds,? says Rasansky.

          Blaydes is not alone.

          In southern Dallas, at the intersection of Ann Arbor and Marsalis, Council Member Maxine Thornton-Reese would like to see a new shopping center be developed. She says economic development is needed, and she earmarked $3.7 million for infrastructure and buying land, but again, the plans aren't clear.

At a recent city council meeting, Mayor Laura Miller asked her to explain.

?What land do we need to buy around it?? asked Miller.

?That is to be determined,? responded Thornton-Reese.

Thornton-Reese refused to offer specifics, but said a developer had come forward. City officials told News 8, that?s news to them.     

          ?This is like writing a blank check,? said Rasansky. ?A blank check that is not filled in. There is no payee to it. Only our signature on the bottom. Only the city of Dallas. And it's blank. It's open. ?

          Rasansky says, while the $12 million dollars is a drop in the bucket for a $1.35 Billion bond program, he fears that including projects not clearly defined or spelled out, erodes voter confidence...and puts the entire bond package at risk