Commissioners Court approves plan to spend $26 million

EDINBURG — The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court approved a plan Tuesday to issue up to $26 million in certificates of obligation to fund drainage and road projects, improvements to county buildings and payment for in-house staff and equipment purchases in the precincts.

"(The projects have) been a long time coming," Commissioner Sylvia Handy said after the meeting. "Now with the hurricane, it really prompted us to do something immediately."

A certificate of obligation, or CO, is a type of debt instrument used to finance capital improvement projects. It is backed by the full faith and credit of the government entity and is fully payable from a property tax levy; however, it differs from what is commonly called a general obligation, or GO, bond in that CO debt can be issued without voter approval.

The $26 million will be available after the certificates are sold sometime in January, but commissioners are already making expenditures from the county's road and bridges fund with plans to repay it with revenue from the certificates.

Raul Silguero, the chief administrator of the county's budget division, said the certificates will be paid over 20 years using tax revenue.

Since 2003, the county has collected 59 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation on residences and businesses, which will not change, he said. Roughly 7 cents of the tax will be dedicated to debt service.

Each commissioner was allocated $5 million to spend on road and drainage improvements in their precincts, for a total of $20 million, Silguero said.

The other $6 million is budgeted for renovations to county buildings, planning for a new courthouse, construction of a morgue and other countywide projects.

The commissioners also approved an option to spend the new funding on hiring staff and purchasing equipment.

Silguero said the commissioners haven't all outlined where their money will be spent, but they are required to use it for drainage and road improvements.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Oscar Garza, for example, plans to dedicate his $5 million to pay staff and purchase equipment to add drainage systems to individual colonias and subdivisions.

The county's budget division started preparations to issue the certificates of obligation after Hurricane Dolly, Silguero said. There are plans to issue more certificates in 2011 for additional drainage work.

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.