Edinburg city council moves to finance landfill expansion, approves notice of intent and related resolutions

Edinburg city officials authorized publication of a notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation and approved a reimbursement resolution to fund infrastructure needed for a landfill expansion tied to Permit 956C.

City Solid Waste Director Ramiro Gomez told the Edinburg City Council that Permit 956C, issued in October 2019, added long-term life to the regional landfill but requires staged construction and additional infrastructure before the city may place waste in the new Unit 7 cells. Gomez said the permit’s development schedule sets specific trigger points: the city must complete certain cell-construction components and receive state inspections before moving into the next operational sequence and allowing waste placement in Unit 7, Cell 1.

The council approved a resolution authorizing publication of a notice of intent to issue “combination tax and limited pledge revenue” certificates of obligation (CEOs) and later approved a reimbursement resolution that would let the city reimburse prior qualifying expenditures from bond proceeds. The council also authorized the city manager to negotiate an interim interlocal agreement with the city of Far, Texas, to accept nonhazardous solid waste at the Edinburg Regional Landfill.

Why it matters: The landfill is an enterprise that supplies disposal capacity to Edinburg and surrounding cities under contract. Gomez and the city’s advisors said additional cell construction is needed to deliver the airspace promised to outside customers and to keep the landfill operating year-round. Council action sets the legal steps for issuing debt the city intends to use to fund the next phases of engineering and construction.

What presenters told council - Ramiro Gomez explained the permit timeline, said the landfill’s Unit 7 is divided into multiple operational sequences and phases, and said the city issued a notice to proceed April 1, 2025, for initial construction work. He said cell-construction and other infrastructure must be in place before the state will allow waste placement in Unit 7 Cell 1. - Financial adviser Bobby Villarreal (Estrada Hinojosa) presented a sample financing scenario run April 9 showing a $9 million issuance over 20 years with an illustrative annual debt service of roughly $737,740 (scenario assumptions and a 5% illustrative interest rate shown to council). He said the landfill’s net operating revenue would cover the proposed CEOs under the pro forma presented. - Bond counsel Arnoldo Cantu explained the legal structure: the city is proposing a “double-barrel” pledge (enterprise revenues backed by an ad valorem tax pledge) to achieve stronger credit terms than a pure revenue issuance; he said the intent is that the landfill enterprise will be self-supporting and the issuance would not require a tax rate increase so long as the enterprise covers the debt service through transfers. - City finance staff and others answered questions about the plan’s timing and the city’s prior reserve for landfill capital. The council was told that a reserve of about $1.6 million had been previously held for landfill needs but that the reserve was released when the prior ordinance was removed; staff said they would provide exact dates and accounting records on request.

Council direction and next steps - Council voted to publish the required notice of intent and to adopt the reimbursement resolution, actions that begin the statutory and market processes for debt issuance. Staff said a second council action to actually issue the CEOs would come after the statutorily required notice period (roughly 45 days) and additional underwriting steps; a tentative calendar item targeted a June meeting for a final authorization. - Council approved authorization for the city manager to negotiate an interim interlocal agreement with the city of Far to accept nonhazardous waste at the landfill; staff said final legal review would precede signing. - City staff and advisors committed to provide additional documentation requested by council, including the historical status of the landfill capital reserve fund and the full pro forma and debt schedules that support the repayment assumptions.

Context and background - Permit 956C was issued in 2019 and, according to Gomez, extended the landfill’s usable life and required a multi-phase development plan that must meet state inspection and trigger conditions before new cells may be used for waste placement. City staff said site work and initial construction for phase 1 were already underway under a notice to proceed issued April 1, 2025. - The landfill holds municipal contracts with neighboring jurisdictions for disposal capacity. Council and staff said securing new airspace and supporting infrastructure is necessary to meet contractual commitments and to preserve the enterprise’s revenue stream.

What council approved at this meeting - Publication of a notice of intent to issue combination tax and limited-pledge revenue certificates of obligation (resolution approved by voice vote). - A reimbursement resolution authorizing the city to reimburse prior qualifying expenditures from debt proceeds if needed (resolution approved by voice vote). - Authorization for the city manager to negotiate an interim interlocal agreement with the City of Far for disposal services at the Edinburg Regional Landfill (motion approved by council).

Reporting and transparency requests Council members asked staff to provide: (a) a written history and dates for the landfill capital reserve that had been released (staff said about $1.6 million had been in the account when it was closed out); (b) the full engineering, bid and timeline documents for the Unit 7 sequences; and (c) the contract list and airspace obligations the landfill currently holds. Financial staff confirmed the city’s CAFR and budget documents contain debt schedules and said those are available online.

Ending note City staff said they expect to return to council with final financing documents after the statutory notice period and final pricing by the underwriter. Council members repeatedly asked staff to provide fuller documentation on the fund history, the timing of required construction steps, and the contracts supporting landfill revenues so members and the public can track whether revenues and contractual commitments will continue to support the planned debt service.