During the January 8 meeting of the El Paso County Commissioners Court, the first five members of the new Bond Advisory Committee were appointed.
According to the backup to agenda item 10, the Bond Advisory Committee was “established to provide expertise, recommendations, and oversight related to the issuance, management, and utilization of bonds by the County government. The committee’s primary objective is to ensure transparency, fiscal responsibility, and public accountability in the County’s bond initiatives.”
Of course, this citizen oversight body is necessary because the County is planning to issue $500 million in general obligation bonds, certificates of obligation, and tax anticipation notes over the next several years.
When finalized, the Committee will consist of 11 members, with 8 appointed by the Commissioners and 3 appointed by the Judge (including the Chair).
Attached to the backup are the applications of the five appointees:
Veronica Carrillo (Commissioner Stout, Precinct 2), BA in Management Information Systems; UTEP: payroll & accounting, client support, project management, administrative support.
Cindy Hernandez (Commissioner Coronado, Precinct 4), Masters in Public Administration, Emergence Health Network: data analytics, project management, public sector relations.
Carlos Martinez (Commissioner Stout, Precinct 2), BA in political science, AT&T: external and legislative affairs.
Jesus Reyes (Commissioner Holguin, Precinct 3), high school diploma, retired law enforcement and General Manager of the Irrigation District.
David Sublasky (Commissioner Holguin, Precinct 3), high school diploma, retired City of El Paso: program manager, health food inspection program.
We sincerely hope these five individuals have the requisite skills for understanding and monitoring hundreds of millions of dollars in bond expenditures and that they will be outspoken when they identify issues of concern on behalf of the taxpayers of El Paso County.
Our local media will not report about this Committee but you can be certain that we will.