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Ennis sets FY2025 tax rate at 0.664 per $100, approves $40 million certificates of obligation
Summary
The Ennis City Commission voted unanimously Aug. 6 to maintain the citytax rate at 0.664 per $100 valuation for FY2025, approved a $40 million certificates-of-obligation issuance split between general and utility projects, and accepted a recommended bond bid at roughly 3.72% interest.
Ennis, Texas
The Ennis City Commission voted Aug. 6 to keep the cityproperty tax rate at 0.664 per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2025 and to authorize $40 million in certificates of obligation to pay for general and utility capital projects.
The vote followed a staff presentation that said certified property valuations arrived below prior estimates, producing an approximate $700,000 shortfall to the general fund compared with budget assumptions. City management told commissioners they had identified savings to preserve service levels and to afford a 4% cost-of-living adjustment for existing staff while maintaining the current M&O tax rate.
Why it matters: Keeping the rate at 0.664 preserves existing service funding without triggering a voter-approval election tied to the higher voter-approval rate; the $40 million debt issuance will fund planned infrastructure work including wastewater improvements, a water-plant expansion and force-main rehabilitation.
What the commission approved
- Tax rate: The commission adopted a property tax rate of 0.664 per $100 valuation and directed staff to publish the required public notices and hold the advertised hearings. The mayor asked the city secretary to conduct a record roll-call vote; the mayor reported the vote as unanimous in favor.
- Certificates of obligation: The commission authorized issuance of certificates of obligation totalling $40,000,000, with $20,000,000 allocated to general capital projects and $20,000,000 to utility capital projects. Staff presented an ordinance and the form-of-certificate document that will be finalized with principal and maturity figures for each maturity before closing.
Bond-market context and award recommendation
Mark McClaney of Samco Capital Markets, the citys financial advisor, said the city received a competitive set of bids and recommended awarding the bonds at an interest rate of approximately 3.72 percent. McClaney said Standard & Poors affirmed the citys AA- rating and that the recommended pricing represented substantial improvement from earlier pricing scenarios.
Commissioners asked about the size of the issuance compared with the citys capital investment plan and the citys ability to repay larger-than-planned debt. McClaney and staff said the debt-service schedule has been structured so that annual debt service will begin declining in coming years, leaving flexibility for future needs; they also described options such as interest-only first-year payments or reimbursement resolutions for emergency spending that could be followed by later bond issuance.
Process notes and next steps
Staff and the citys bond counsel clarified that the ordinance includes form-of-certificate pages with blanks for the specific principal and maturity amounts that will be filled in as part of the final issuance documents. The mayor does not sign the form-of-certificate pages; the city secretary will sign required closing certificates when appropriate. The commission approved the authorization to proceed.
Ending
By maintaining the tax rate and moving forward with the $40 million certificates of obligation, the commission preserved planned service funding while authorizing capital work on water and wastewater systems. The commission also directed staff to finalize issuance documents and to return with any necessary administrative signatures.
