• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Market Place
  • CJCAT
    • From the President
    • From the General Counsel
    • North and East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
    • South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
    • West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
  • Conferences
    • Conference Galleries
    • Conference Close-Up
  • Texas County Directory
    • 2023 Texas County Directory Updates
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • Previous Issues
      • 2020 Previous Issues
      • 2019 Previous Issues
      • 2018 Previous Issues
      • 2017 Previous Issues
      • 2016 Previous Issues
      • 2015 Previous Issues
      • 2014 Previous Issues
Texas County Progress

Texas County Progress

The Official Publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

  • Home
    • Feature Story
    • CJCAT
  • Legislature
  • Monuments of Justice
    • Courthouse Preservation
    • Courthouse Trails
    • Why Stop In
  • Emergency Response
  • Road & Bridge
  • Jails
    • Indigent Health Care
  • County Focus
    • A Glimpse In The Life
    • Century of Service
    • Courthouse Preservation
    • Key Concept
    • Veterans

From the General Counsel: County Debt Analysis

June 1, 2014 by Christi Stark

The Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations has received an interim charge to study and make recommendations on the immediate and long-term fiscal impact that bonds and other types of obligations issued by local governments have on current and future generations of taxpayers.  I was invited to testify at a recent hearing on this issue and presented some important information to the Committee.

Public debt is the means of financing infrastructure and distributing the cost over time among both present and future taxpayers.  With over 400,000 new citizens arriving in Texas annually, additional infrastructure will be required, and these new taxpayers should assume their share of the cost.

Since the State of Texas does not provide assistance to local governments for infrastructure, these projects must be financed at the local level, primarily through bonds and certificates of obligation.  For counties, these obligations are dependent upon the property tax for repayment.  Local taxpayers determine whether to approve bonds and may petition for a referendum on certificates of obligations.  Local voters decide whether to re-elect the county officials who propose these projects.

However, counties issue only about 7 percent of the local government debt with 66 percent issued by school districts and cities.  Special districts account for the remainder.  In recent years, 40 percent of the county obligations have been issued to refinance or refund obligations, ensuring the benefit of lower interest rates for our taxpayers.

Counties use debt to finance infrastructure projects, primarily roads, courts, correctional facilities and flood control.  As state support for transportation projects has diminished, counties have assumed the burden of improved county roads and TxDOT projects.

As legislators consider imposing additional restrictions on the issuance of local governmental debt, please remind them that 1) counties only issue 7 percent of the local debt; 2) counties are responsible to local taxpayers for these decisions; 3) state government does not assist in the payment of these obligations; 4) extended financing equitably distributes the cost of capital improvements; and 5) counties are constitutionally limited on the debt that may be issued.

For more information, please call me at 1-800-733-0699.

Filed Under: From the General Counsel

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to County Progress

Subscribe: Newsletter | Magazine | Directory

June 2023

June 2023
If you'd like to view our previous issues, click here.

Search County Progress

Dates of Interest for the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature

Official deadlines will be set when the House and Senate adopt their rules, but until then, the Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual provides the following general calendar: 

Bill pre-filing began:  Nov. 14, 2022 

1st day of session:  Jan. 10, 2023 

60-day bill filing deadline:  March 10, 2023  

Adjournment sine die:  May 29, 2023 

Post-session 20-day deadline for governor to sign or veto:  June 18, 2023 

Effective date (91st day after adjournment):  Aug. 28, 2023

Sample Rules of Procedure, Conduct, and Decorum at Meetings of the County Commissioners Court

Resolutions

Unfunded Mandate Resolution

The latest resolutions passed by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas and the three Regional Associations are available at the links below.

County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas Resolutions 2022

North & East Texas Resolutions 2022

South Texas Resolutions 2022

West Texas Resolutions 2023

Texas County Directory

Place your order for the updated 2023 Directory

Connect with us online.

Facebook spacer Twitter spacer LinkedIn spacer Instagram

Footer

Search County Progress

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

County Progress

3457 Curry Lane
Abilene, TX 79606
325.673.4822
countyprogress@zacpubs.com

Categories

© 2023 · Zachry Publications