Voters in November will decide whether to approve a bond election for multiple projects throughout El Paso County, which will raise the county’s portion of a tax bill by about $60 per year on an average-value home.
The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday approved the final project list for the proposed capital improvement bond that totals about $324 million and called for the bond election Nov. 5.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the project list and call for the election, though the court went back and forth on voter-approved debt and non-voter approved debt before taking the final votes.
“The amount of the issuance that we’re making now isn’t going to fix everything – those are things that we’re going to have to continue to work on as time goes by,” said County Commissioner Illiana Holguin, who previously advocated for the Commissioners Court to only request $175 million in bond funds to avoid an impact to the county’s tax rate.
The bond, if approved by voters Nov. 5, will raise the county’s debt tax rate by3 cents per $100 valuation. That translates to about $60 annually on an average value home of $200,956, according to county documents.
The Commissioners Court has been debating which projects to prioritize on the proposed bond for months as it aims to avoid issuing more than $500 million in debt between voter-approved bonds and certificates of obligation, which is non-voter approved debt.
Holguin, though she said she did not garner the support of the court, said she wanted the Commissioners Court to put all projects on the November ballot instead of also considering issuing certificates of obligation.
The county is also still considering issuing about $174 million in certificates of obligation, which are largely infrastructure projects such as facility improvements, stormwater and wastewater projects, in 2025 and 2026, according to county documents. The Commissioners Court did not have an item posted on the Monday meeting agenda to discuss the certificates of obligation list of projects.
Holguin and County Commissioner Sergio Coronado got into an at-times heated debate about whether voters should decide on all of the projects.
“I want to make sure I understand (that) you’re saying that we can’t trust the voters to understand how important some of these projects are,” Holguin asked of Coronado.
Coronado said the projects on the certificates of obligation list, including improvements that are tied to state mandated services, need to be done and the Commissioners Court should make the decision.
“The jail, the juvenile justice system, the annex, the courthouse, all those issues, if they vote them down, guess what? We don’t have the choice,” Coronado said. “We still have to pay for them – absolutely we have to pay for them, and I’d rather it cost us less than more. That’s my position, and you’re free to disagree.”
County Commissioner David Stout said the projects on the list for the November proposition are not wasteful and will go a long way toward improving the quality of life for county residents.
“Our public deserves to vote on it, and they’ll tell us whether or not they’d like to see those expenditures,” Stout said.
El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said waiting on projects will cost more in the long run. He said he feels comfortable with the Commissioners Court decision to move forward with the bond election.
“I think you’ll be very proud, and you’ve seen the work from everybody,” Samaniego said. “We’re going to do some amazing things with the money we have. I think we’ve proven ourselves that we’re very fiscally responsible and that we’re going to use that money probably better than any Commissioners Court.”
The county, if the propositions are approved by voters, would issue $125 million in voter-approved bonds in 2025 and the remaining $200 million in 2027.
An effort by the University of Texas at El Paso to tack on $99 million in debt for improvements to the Sun Bowl Stadium to the county bond fizzled out after the Commissioners Court cited critical infrastructure needs having to take priority.
The bond will have five propositions for the various categories of projects the county is seeking bond funds to complete.
By the numbers:
Prop A: Parks and recreation includes 19 projects including improvements for Ascarate Park, neighborhood parks, regional trails and related facilities for about $96 million
Prop B: Would allow the county to construct a new medical examiner office at the cost of about $27 million
Prop C: Would allow the county to make improvements to the El Paso County Courthouse, sub courthouses and related annexes including Corbin Sambrano, Ysleta and Far East Montana, for about $63 million
Prop D: Would allow the county to fund a County Coliseum Master Plan including the renovation of the County Coliseum and adjacent facilities for about $105 million
Prop E: Would allow the county to build a new animal shelter for about $33 million
The county will begin its public outreach campaign in September, which includes public meetings that will be held through October.