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Weslaco commission authorizes notice of intent to issue up to $35 million in certificates of obligation
Summary
Weslaco commissioners voted May 21 to publish a notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation not to exceed $35 million to fund street, drainage, park, water and wastewater projects; staff said the plan is designed to avoid raising the city’s tax rate and to make projects shovel‑ready for grant matching. Publications are scheduled for June 2 and June 9 with a planned closing Aug. 27, 2025.
Weslaco’s city commission on May 21 approved a resolution authorizing publication of a notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation in an amount not to exceed $35 million to finance street improvements, park upgrades (including lighting and playscapes), water and wastewater system work, drainage projects and related professional services.
Mayor (Mayor) led discussion emphasizing that the financing is intended to avoid raising the city’s property tax rate, saying, “these bonds are not gonna affect our tax rate.” City staff and outside advisers said the issuance would be used to get projects shovel‑ready and to match grant applications already under way.
Rosie (staff) described the categories of projects the city will use bond proceeds for and confirmed staff is aiming to be transparent about which projects are funded. Commissioner Garza (Mr. Garza) and other commissioners noted that about 30% of the proposed funds would be directed to drainage work and that the city has $41 million in recent grant applications with the city’s share around 20% of any awards.
Anne (Hilltop Securities) outlined the near‑term steps and schedule: “That first publication will be on Monday, June 2. The second one will be Monday, June 9.” She said staff will prepare an official disclosure document, send materials to the rating agency (Standard & Poor’s) on June 18, and request a rating in mid‑July; the city expects to return to the commission for bid award on July 31 and to close on the certificates on Aug. 27, 2025, if the process proceeds as planned.
Dan Martinez, the city’s bond counsel, said the notice uses broad category language to preserve flexibility across transportation, drainage, parks and water/wastewater and does not require the commission to allocate specific dollar amounts to each category in the notice of intent.
Commissioners said the financing is tied to the city’s current healthy fund balance and credit position and is intended to leverage grant opportunities and avoid increasing the tax rate. After questions from commissioners about project scope and striping (which staff said is typically budgeted from the CIP and general fund rather than bond proceeds), the commission voted to approve the resolution to publish the notice of intent.
Votes at a glance: the commission approved the publication of the notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation not to exceed $35,000,000. The vote was taken by voice and recorded as passed in open session; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the public transcript.
Next steps: staff will publish the two required public notices in the newspaper of general circulation on June 2 and June 9, prepare the official statement for rating agencies and investors, return to the commission for the underwriting bid on July 31 and, if approved, close on the certificates Aug. 27.
