On November 5, El Pasoans rejected El Paso Bond Proposition D, which would have authorized the issuance of $105,485,000 in general obligation bonds “for the County’s Coliseum and adjacent facilities and the levy of taxes sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds.”
The proposition failed by only 668 votes, but it failed!
Yet tomorrow the El Paso County Commissioners Court will vote upon agenda item 8C, which would place a bond proposition on the May 3 ballot authorizing the issuance of $105,485,000 in general obligation bonds “for the County’s Coliseum and adjacent facilities and the levy of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds.”
Yes, you read that correctly. It is the same bond proposition the voters rejected only three months ago.
It is no secret that Commissioner David Stout of Precinct 2 is the driving force behind this antidemocratic, tyrannical money grab that aims to countermand the will of the voters.
It is bad enough that Stout wants more than $105 million for this project even though the actual cost for renovating and upgrading the Coliseum is only $60 million. He wants another $45 million for a whole menu of extra amenities, many of which could be paid for by private investors.
But here’s the clincher: Placing a new bond proposition on the May ballot will cost the taxpayers more than $350,000!
Stout’s motivation to return the matter to the voters is clear: The Texas Legislature is poised to pass a reform that would make it illegal for a local government to place a bond proposition on the ballot within five years of its rejection by the voters.
So Stout is hoping he can ram this through before Austin closes the door in the County’s face.
COUNTY SPENDING BINGE CONTINUES
If Commissioner Stout’s $105 million proposal is approved on Monday and passed by the voters in May, the total cost to the taxpayers would be an estimated $190,447,042 in principal and interest, according to the backup.
Add to that the $551,625,000 in GO bonds for UMC and the County that the voters approved in November, plus the more than $100 million in certificates of obligation and/or tax notes the County is planning to approve very soon, and we are looking at nearly $1.4 billion in principal and interest that this Commissioners Court will have authorized!
It’s truly incredible. The County currently owes $276,882,062 in debt principal and interest and is about to add hundreds of millions of dollars to that figure.
But it’s only our money…
WRITE TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT AND SIGN UP TO SPEAK
The County has scheduled discussion of item 8C for Monday at 1:00pm, so please sign up to speak against it! Call-in instructions are near the top of the agenda.
Also please write to the Commissioners Court to tell them you oppose re-voting on a bond proposition that was just rejected by the voters: countyjudge@epcounty.com; commissioner1@epcounty.com; commissioner2@epcounty.com; commissioner3@epcounty.com; commissioner4@epcounty.com