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Maverick County court authorizes $7 million tax notes to fund road, facility repairs
Summary
After legal and financial briefings, the Maverick County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to authorize a $7 million tax-note issuance to finance local road and facility projects; officials said the structure would not raise the county tax rate.
Maverick County's commissioners court unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a $7,000,000 tax-note issuance on Nov. 12, 2024, after receiving legal and financial guidance that the county may issue tax notes without increasing its tax rate.
The vote followed a legal briefing from bond counsel and a financial presentation on the county's capacity to service short-term debt. Bond counsel told the court that, as cited in the meeting, the Local Government Code provisions discussed do not bar tax-note issuance even after a failed bond election and that the county obtained confirmation from the Texas Attorney General's office earlier in the year on that interpretation. "I have received ... clearance from the Texas attorney general's office on that very issue," counsel said during the meeting.
The court's budget officer framed the financing as a targeted tool to address infrastructure needs raised during the budget process, naming road repairs (Old Pioneer Road, Rosita Valley Road and colonia roads), water-plant work and county facilities as priorities. The budget officer also stated that the proposal would not affect the tax rate: "There is no effect ... to the tax rate itself," he said in explaining why a tax-note structure was preferred over longer-term certificates of obligation.
Financial advisers told the court the county can service $7,000,000 of tax notes at an illustrative rate of roughly 4.1% over seven years, and that scheduled retirements of other debt in fiscal years 2026–27 plus existing funds in the debt-service/sinking account make the structure feasible without raising taxes. The adviser confirmed the county's ability to pay: "You are able to service all of your existing debts, and you're able to service the $7,000,000," the adviser said.
Under the statutory language cited in the meeting (referred to in the record as '14 31' and section '14 31.002'), bond counsel said the commissioner's court normally acts on a recommendation from the county auditor or county budget officer before authorizing the printing or issuance of tax notes; the meeting record shows the budget officer presented capacity and recommended proceeding.
A commissioner moved to authorize issuance of the county's tax notes (recorded in the transcript as the "tax notes, series 2024"). The court took a voice/raise-hand vote and the motion passed unanimously.
Next steps: The court authorized the issuance during the meeting; the record does not include additional schedule details for sale, closing or fund allocation beyond the general project categories and the projected term and rate discussed at the meeting.
