The City of El Paso’s Bond Overview Advisory Committee (BOAC), a group of citizen professionals charged with monitoring the City’s expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal bonds, is scheduled to convene virtually on Monday, July 12 at 4:30pm.
Today we read on the front page of the El Paso Times that our City’s outstanding per capita debt from certificates of obligation exceeds that for the five largest cities in Texas combined. And that is before adding the $93 million authorized in April and the additional $96 million that is in the process of being authorized.
Our total CO debt will soon reach $737,000,000.
By contrast, Houston has only $13 million in CO debt and Dallas has $21.2 million because their city councils authorize such debt for its intended purpose: emergencies.
There are nine members of BOAC, and they are appointed by the Mayor and City Council.
The City liaison to BOAC is the City Engineer/Managing Director of the Capital Improvement Department, Sam Rodriguez, who is in charge of executing the City’s capital improvement projects, building the “Arena” and waterparks and all the other expensive toys we don’t need, and ignoring the recommendations of BOAC and anyone else concerned about our City’s reckless deficit spending and absurdly high property tax.
Mr. Rodriguez is a public employee and works for the taxpayers of El Paso. In 2019 he earned a salary of $157,624.43 plus benefits.
On Monday, you are free to exercise your right to address him and share your views on certificates of obligation, expenditures on non-essential projects, and high taxation.
If you wish to address these matters generally, you may speak during the “Call to the public” at the start of the meeting.
But if you wish to share your views specifically on the Museum, Cultural, “Performing Arts” (including G-League basketball 😂), and Library Facilities, you will need to speak under agenda item 5.
I believe the media will show up for this one.