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El Campo council approves bond issuance to finance wastewater treatment plant improvements
Summary
The City Council approved Ordinance 2025-09 authorizing a certificates-of-obligation bond sale to fund improvements to the wastewater treatment plant after a competitive sale; Raymond James submitted the winning bid and purchased bond insurance for its resale.
The El Campo City Council on April 28 approved Ordinance 2025-09 authorizing the issuance of certificates of obligation to fund improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Council action follows a competitive sale held the same day. James Gilly of US Capital Advisors, the city’s financial advisor, told the council the city received seven bids and that Raymond James of Dallas submitted the winning bid with an initial true interest cost of about 4.29 percent. “This morning…we received a total of 7 bids,” Gilly said. Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed the city’s AA-minus rating before the sale, a factor Gilly and staff cited as producing favorable interest rates.
The ordinance on the council screen incorporated two revisions made after the packet was published: updated sale numbers reflecting the winning bid, and language reflecting that the underwriter purchased bond insurance. According to Gilly, Raymond James bought bond insurance on the certificates of obligation and then plans to resell the bonds; the insurer carries a double-A rating and the insurance is a credit enhancement the underwriter used to obtain a better price.
Council discussion on the item was procedural; staff noted the packet version had been revised to match the sale and asked that the motion reflect the version presented that evening. A motion to approve Ordinance 2025-09 “as presented this evening” was made, seconded, and passed by voice vote.
No further conditions or amendments to the ordinance were recorded in the public motion on the record. The council did not record a roll-call vote or individual tallies in the transcript excerpt.
The council and staff characterized the sale as competitively priced and noted the reaffirmed AA-minus rating as evidence of the city’s credit strength. The discussion noted market volatility and that the insurance purchase was an underwriter decision that did not change the city’s final debt-service numbers.
City staff and bond counsel were in the audience during the presentation; no additional actions or follow-up tasks tied to the ordinance were recorded in the transcript.
