Starr County Commissioners Court on Monday authorized the issuance of Certificates of Obligation Series 2025 to help fund courthouse repairs and related projects. The court approved an order authorizing the bonds after presentations from the county’s financial advisor and bond counsel, and a motion carried without determining a tax rate.

The action followed a market update from the county’s financial advisor, who described successful demand for the county’s long-term maturities and said the final pricing produced an effective interest rate “about 0.5%,” which reduced interest costs by roughly $250,000 compared with earlier estimates. The advisor recommended using a modest portion of the county’s interest and sinking (I&S) fund balance to temper any near-term tax-rate implications.

The order the court approved authorizes the county to sell the Certificates of Obligation; it does not set any property tax rates. Bond counsel Dan Martinez of Winstead and the county’s financial adviser presented two financing scenarios that showed either (1) a small immediate I&S rate of about $3.47 per $100 of assessed valuation with slightly higher payments later, or (2) using a portion of the I&S fund balance to smooth the rate to roughly $4.97 per $100 over several years. The advisor explained the proposal is callable or refinancable in 10 years and that the county could prepay or defease principal earlier if revenues allow.

Judge Badcock and the commissioners praised the county’s fiscal management and rating improvement; the advisor noted the county received a double-A rating from market participants during due diligence calls. The court moved and seconded approval of the order authorizing issuance; the motion carried.

The court and bond professionals said the next step is for the commissioners to set any related tax-rate action at a later meeting. No specific tax-rate change was adopted Monday.

The court recessed and later returned to complete other business. The county’s presentations and the court’s authorization were described as necessary to secure federal funds earmarked for courthouse repair and to finalize local financing that pairs with those federal allocations.