Laredo council approves bond referendum questions and schedules May election

The City of Laredo City Council on Feb. 11 approved an ordinance to place a multi-part bond referendum on the May 3, 2025 ballot, asking voters whether the city should authorize borrowing for a set of public projects including public safety, public health, street work and a Hamilton Hotel rehabilitation.

Council members and staff spent several hours debating timing, scope and project details before finalizing a package of propositions that the city will present to voters in May. The council approved language for the election ordinance and authorized the city to contract with the Webb County Elections Administrator to run the election.

City staff opened the discussion with data on population and economic growth and noted constraints from state property-tax limits. A staff presenter said the city’s general-fund reserves include about $54 million and another roughly $32 million held for budget balancing, and that the city is carrying a general-fund balance close to 20 percent while debt-service-related reserves stood around 17 percent in last year’s budget. Council members repeatedly returned to those fund-balance and reserve figures while weighing how much to ask voters to authorize.

The council approved four propositions to go on the May ballot: a public safety proposition combining police, fire and an agreed surveillance lighting/camera component; a public-health proposition for the Laredo Health Department; a streets/paving proposition for public works; and a Hamilton Hotel rehabilitation proposition.…