The Dallas City Council on Wednesday threw support behind a proposed $1.25 billion bond program that would include dedicating $500 million for road projects, $310 million for parks, $61 million for housing and $75 million in unreserved money divided evenly among the 15 members for their individual discretion.

The 9-6 straw vote for the funding allocations is nonbinding and could change before a Feb. 14 scheduled vote that would send finalized propositions to voters for a May 4 election. The group is next scheduled to meet about the bond on Feb. 7, when it will start narrowing down specific projects and cost.

The $75 million drew split reactions from the City Council, with some saying it was necessary to ensure needed district-specific projects get funded, while others argued it took away from infrastructure needs that impact the city as a whole.

Council member Adam Bazaldua, who was against the scenario, said he believed it sent “a very bad message” to the public. The favored allocations reduced money in a separate scenario Bazaldua was the lead supporter of, such as $100 million for housing, $45 million for economic development, $27.9 million in City Hall upgrades and $20 million for homelessness-related projects.

The favored allocations set money for economic development at $29.2 million, homelessness projects at $8.5 million and no money for City Hall fixes. Among the repairs planned for City Hall were electrical, fire suppression and HVAC upgrades.

“This amendment, to me, tells the public ‘I’m not concerned with everything that we’ve learned on the needs of our city, but I am more concerned with having the autonomy with millions of dollars,’” Bazaldua said.

Council member Tennell Atkins, who proposed the allocations that got majority approval, said he believed the group could work together to use their discretionary money to boost some categories. He noted a recent community survey showing streets and parks listed among the top concerns of residents.

Atkins’ scenario had increases in a few areas over Bazaldua’s initial proposal, such as boosting money for parks by $10.5 million, bumping up libraries by $7 million and adding $5 million for city information technology projects.

“We work for the citizens of Dallas,” said Atkins, the council’s mayor pro tem. “They are our boss. They tell us what to do.”

Mayor Eric Johnson and council members Atkins, Jesse Moreno, Zarin Gracey, Carolyn King Arnold, Omar Narvaez, Kathy Stewart, Cara Mendelsohn and Paul Ridley supported the funding allocations.

Wednesday’s decision comes after the City Council in a similar nonbinding vote on Jan. 19 favored increasing the bond total from $1.1 billion to $1.25 billion, which was hoped would allow the city to cover more projects in the upcoming bond program.

Parks, housing and arts have been the top requests for bond funding voiced by the public during three City Council meetings on the bond, including on Wednesday.

But the tentatively approved scenario falls well short of the $200 million in bond money housing advocates have been requesting to boost the city’s stock of affordable homes.

“If we choose not to significantly invest in housing, we’re only digging ourselves into a deeper hole and putting our residents in more dire straits,” Bryan Tony, an organizer with the Dallas Housing Coalition, told the City Council ahead of its decision.

Council member Jaynie Schultz, before the straw vote, said she didn’t understand the rationale behind the proposed bond money for housing and homelessness when they have been among the top issues the public has voiced to the council that need to be addressed.

“If we’re going to borrow money in order to move this city forward, these items in these bond recommendations ought to be moving our city forward,” Schultz said. “So I would like to see the justification, particularly for the discretionary fund, on how everybody’s discretionary fund is actually going to move this city forward and be worth borrowing the money for.”

Here are the tentative $1.25 billion bond program allocations that received the majority of the Dallas City Council’s support on Wednesday:

• Streets and transportation: $500 million

• Parks and recreation: $310.5 million

• Public safety: $90 million

• Cultural arts facilities: $75.2 million

• Council discretionary: $75 million

• Housing: $61 million

• Flood protection and storm drainage: $52.1 million

• Libraries: $43.5 million

• Economic development: $29.2 million

• Homelessness: $8.5 million

• Information technology: $5 million