COUNCIL APPROVES $4.8M PROPERTY PURCHASE FOR CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION IN UNION PLAZA
We broke the news on March 4 that the City is planning a major expansion of the Convention Center south of San Antonio Avenue, up to the edge of Overland…
CITY OWES $721 MILLION IN PRINCIPAL & INTEREST ON 9 CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION
During the last two fiscal years, the total principal and interest on our City’s CO debt declined from a peak of $852 million to $721 million. This is because our…
CITY TO FACE $29.2M IN BUDGET DEFICITS THROUGH FY 2029
City CFO Robert Cortinas made a presentation at the March 17 Work Session under item 2, indicating the City is projecting a total budget deficit of $29.2 million over the…
CITY COUNCIL REJECTS CITIZEN OVERSIGHT OF NEARLY $700M IN BOND PROJECTS
City Reps. Canales and Limon co-sponsored item 21 on yesterday’s City Council agenda, which would have provided citizen oversight of $685,602,650 in general obligation bond expenditures, amounting to approximately $1.3…
MAYOR JOHNSON PROMISED TO LOWER OUR PROPERTY TAX BUT WILL NOT DELIVER
What is the difference between Dee Margo and Renard Johnson, aside from the fact that they are cut from the same cloth and relied upon the same group of friends…
CITY REPS CANALES AND LIMON MOVE TO ESTABLISH BOAC AS PERMANENT STANDING COMMITTEE WITH EXPANDED OVERSIGHT
The voters passed the Quality of Life Bond on November 6, 2012, authorizing the issuance of $473,250,000 in general obligation bonds for dozens of projects, and only 37 days later…
LIST OF 96 RECIPIENTS OF CAR ALLOWANCE CITED IN CITY AUDIT
The City’s current Vehicle Allowance Program Policy was implemented under City Manager Tommy Gonzalez on August 31, 2015 and has never been updated. Chief City Auditor Edmundo Calderon published his…
ABOLISH THE CLIMATE OFFICE
Dear Mayor and City Council, On November 8, 2022, Proposition C passed with only 50.63% voter support, mandating “the issuance of $5,200,000 General Obligation Bonds for renewable energy and resource…
TOTAL DEBT OF EL PASO TAXING ENTITIES TO SURPASS $11.5 BILLION
We are the only media source that reports the total debt of our local taxing entities. On March 28 we shared statistics from the Texas Bond Review Board showing that…
THE PERFECT STORM: SAMANIEGO AND JOHNSON
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego ran on a platform of fiscal conservatism and assumed office January 1, 2019. Since that time, he voted to increase his salary to $152,700 and to…