County bond update: Stifel flags $24M in refunding candidates and potential $1.4M savings
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Summary
County staff and Stifel Public Finance reviewed voter-approved bond projects, upcoming procurements for parks and an animal shelter CMAR, and identified roughly $24 million of refunding candidates that could yield about $1.4 million in net present value savings if market conditions hold.
El Paso County commissioners received a multi-part update Dec. 18 on the county’s bond-funded capital-improvement projects and the county’s debt portfolio, with outside financial advisor Stifel Public Finance identifying near-term refunding opportunities.
County procurement: Karen Davidson, the county purchasing agent, said the county plans to advertise the CMAR solicitation for the county animal shelter in January with proposals due in April, and she outlined schedules for the Escarate Park administrative building (proposals due March 2026; award and agreement targeted June 2026) and park projects at Reisinger, Westway and Agua Dulce. Davidson described a planned "shelter bundle" packaging shelters, picnic tables, benches and trash receptacles to achieve bulk cost savings.
Stifel analysis: Brad Angst of Stifel Public Finance told the court the municipal market has softened and yields were near annual lows after a Federal Reserve 25-basis-point cut at December’s meeting. He and colleague Nancy Rocha reviewed the county debt portfolio and highlighted roughly $24 million of bonds and tax notes that may be suitable for refunding. "You're looking at an NPV savings of about $1.4 million," Rocha said, noting sensitivity to market moves and that savings could rise to about $1.7 million if rates fall another 25 basis points.
Why it matters: Stifel recommended pairing refunding with new-money issuance in spring 2026 to reduce transaction costs and maximize savings. The firm also advised the court about capacity under the county’s 5¢ essential-purpose tax levy and the 1.5¢ voter-approved GO bond program, including approximately $41 million of Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) capacity tied to a larger $59 million project that could generate grant match dollars.
Commissioners’ questions: Commissioners asked about call-option structures on issue maturities, the ability to pair refundings with issuances, workforce impacts from large regional projects and how issuance tranches were selected. Brad Angst and Nancy Rocha said the county can aggregate refunding and new-money items to reduce issuance costs and that short-term structures (for example a two-year tranche sold in 2025) explain some non-call features.
Next steps: Staff will continue to refine refunding candidates and proposed issuance structures and return in spring 2026 with more detailed financing plans and the GMP (guaranteed maximum price) for specific projects when applicable.