Kaufman County commissioners on Oct. 14 voted to authorize county staff to pursue refunding all or part of the county's outstanding unlimited tax road bonds issued in 2016, with a requirement that any refunding achieve at least 4% present-value savings before the county closes.

The action authorizes the county to prepare a refunding issue of callable maturities identified in the 2016 series and delegates pricing approval to Judge Allen and county finance staff (Brandy) if the market produces the required savings. Commissioner Moore moved approval; Commissioner Lane seconded. The motion carried.

The county's financial advisor, identified in the meeting as George, presented options and modeled sensitivity to market rates. He said the total callable principal shown on the schedule was about $17.42 million and reported potential annual budgetary savings ranging with market movement: earlier scenarios produced estimated savings around $104,000–$105,000 per year (roughly $1.2 million total), but a recent rise in interest rates had reduced projected savings. George presented two alternative refunding structures: refund all callable maturities or exclude the final 2038 maturity, which would reduce the refunded principal to roughly $15.52 million and in some scenarios improve present-value savings.

George explained that under current federal tax rules and recent tax-law clarifications the county may do a current tax-exempt refunding if it closes no more than 90 days before the earliest call date listed for the 2016 bonds (callable beginning Feb. 15, 2026). He recommended a delegated-parameter order effective for six months so the county can wait for favorable market movements — including the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled Oct. 28–29 — before deciding to sell and close the refunding issue.

Judge Allen and commissioners discussed the practical effect of the 4% present-value threshold (George said that equated to roughly $70,000 per year in savings at the time the order was drafted) and agreed the threshold provides a sensible buffer before proceeding. George and county staff will monitor rates and, if parameters are met, proceed with marketing, rating calls, and sale under the delegated authority.

No recorded roll-call vote with member-by-member tallies was taken on the record; the court adopted the order by voice vote after the motion. The order delegates pricing authority, establishes the minimum present-value savings parameter of 4%, and sets the order's effectiveness for six months, giving the county until mid‑April to close if it chooses to proceed.

The county's presentation listed Gregory Miller and Heath Delgado as participating bond‑finance and bond‑counsel staff who helped prepare the order documents; county staff said they would coordinate timing, rating calls and the offering documents if the court directed moving forward.

What happens next: County staff will monitor the municipal market and recommend a sale only if the bond refunding meets the adopted savings parameter. If market conditions do not meet the parameter, the county may delay the refunding until conditions improve.