County Issues $110 Million In Certificates Of Obligation
Are El Paso County residents willing to pay a little more in taxes to fix some critical county needs?
That’s exactly what El Paso county commissioners are asking after voting to borrow $110 million via certificates of obligation on Monday.
The final vote on this is expected on June 11 by Commissioners Court. If it passes, it’s expected to cost the owner of the average home in El Paso — between $100,000 to $118,000 — about $24 more year in county taxes.
“Our assets, over time, get older, they break down, they are in need of repair,” County Judge Veronica Escobar said.
Commissioners Court voted 4-0 to issue the certificates of obligation, hoping the county can use that money to address critical needs.
“You’re going to be responsible with the assets you have or you’re going to pay a heck of a lot more later,” Escobar said. “I’d rather do what needs to be done now than pay a whole lot more later.”
What needs to be done includes construction and improvements to the East Side Jail Annex at a cost of $44 million. The new Tornillo-Guadalupe Port of Entry will cost the county $27 million. New information technology software will run $9 million. General County capital needs come in at a cost of $5 million and the Sheriff’s fleet and transport of prisoners will run about $3.5 million dollars.
ABC-7 asked Sheriff Richard Wiles whether his fleet was to the point that something needs to be done?
“Oh, absolutely,” Wiles said. “We haven’t had a significant number of new vehicles in approximately five years and that’s really unheard of in law enforcement.”
Again, the biggest expenditure on the list is the $44 million for construction and expansion of the East Side Jail Annex. Wiles said it costs twice as much to house a prisoner at the downtown jail than it does at the annex.
“We’re going to be saving money every day per prisoner we’re able to move out there,” Wiles said. “Then we’ve got the extra capacity we could need.”
Taxpayers ABC-7 spoke with had a lot of questions.
“How much does it cost and who’s gonna pay for it?” said County watchdog Sal Gomez. “We taxpayers are going to be paying for this forever. My grandchild is going to be paying forever.”
El Pasoan Bobby Perez said he’d be willing to pay $24 more a year in taxes.
“I think it’s a bargain,” he said.
Others disagreed.
“I don’t wanna pay anymore,” said El Pasoan Nilda Mendez.
But Perel countered with, “We need those improvements. We need everything and for $24 or $25 a year it’s a real steal to take advantage of this.”
Escobar pointed out that the County tax rate has been declining in recent years, and even with this increase, it will remain well below the rate of five years ago.
Wiles said he’s worried about the safety of his deputies in the current vehicles and Escobar said improvements to facilities are crucial in order to protect current assets of the County.
