Bond performance team demos Inviso dashboard; court weighs transparency vs. procurement risks amid uncertain state legislation

Capital Planning staff updated the commissioner's court on May 15 about the county’s bond performance tracking and an online dashboard (Inviso) intended to give the public and decision-makers transparent project timelines and budget estimates for voter-approved capital projects.

Danielle Chavez, Capital Planning, showed a three-phase project timeline format (design/preconstruction, procurement/contracting, construction) and demonstrated how Inviso will present proposition-level totals, site/facility detail and individual project line items. She said the county expects to issue debt in stages but is evaluating multiple issuance strategies given uncertainty about state legislative changes. "We anticipated issuing originally $40,000,000 this year and then $115,000,000 in 2027," Chavez said, but added staff are considering alternatives depending on what happens with legislation affecting local debt issuance.

Chavez and County Auditor Barbara Parker discussed recent legislative activity. Chavez said HB 19 has stalled in committee and that elements may be folded into SB 1020 or SB 1024; she said those bills could affect timing and structure of bond issuance. Parker testified in committee on the county’s public-facing process, Chavez said, and staff are monitoring developments before finalizing an issuance timeline.

A material discussion point was whether publishing project-level budget estimates on the public dashboard could reduce bid competitiveness because vendors might calibrate offers to a known maximum. Betsy Keller, county administrator, and other court members proposed including disclaimers on the dashboard noting that displayed figures are project-level estimates and that individual element budgets will not be disclosed before bids are awarded. Chavez said Inviso currently labels numbers as "actual budget" and cannot change that field, but she said staff will add a disclaimer in the description and work with the vendor on improvements.

Chavez said project reporting in Inviso will include task-level details and that training and PDF reports will be made available for the court and the public. She asked the court to confirm whether publishing estimated project budgets at the proposition and site level meets the transparency objectives previously requested. Keller said the figures shown on the dashboard reflect information already shared in public community meetings and that residents expect to see how much is being invested in nearby parks and facilities.

What comes next: Staff will continue to refine Inviso content, add clarifying disclaimers to balance transparency with procurement integrity, provide court training on dashboard navigation, and work with financial advisers, bond counsel and the county attorney on debt issuance strategy as legislative developments unfold.