If you want to know more about Certificate of Obligation and when they may be used as a funding source, here are links where that is explained in more detail.
Certificates of Obligation and
https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._local_gov’t_code_section_271.045
Before I get to the “WHY” Jersey Village City Council has chosen to use them in place of the standard process of presenting Bond Propositions to the voters for their approval, reviewing recent history may help shed light on their spending. Less than two years ago, in November 2023, the city council asked for voter approval on three bonds that totaled $53 million. PROPOSITION A for $19,000,000 and PROPOSITION B for $15,855,000 both passed. You can see more details with this link regarding the wording of those propositions.
Bond-Election-2023 – JV Citizens
Following the bond election, the city council acquired several buildings and land from the church for over $4 million without a vote from the voters. They said they had enough money, so they were not required to allow the voters to vote on it. Now, less than eighteen months later, we learn they have already voted once to allow themselves to issue certificates of obligations in a total of $44 million. We have been told that only about $8 million is left of the bond money, and “it will be used toward JV projects”.
Not long before the bond election, the city council contracted to build a new clubhouse and a new convention center at the golf course with a final cost of around $10 million. The check was issued using remaining funds from undisclosed sources, without voter approval. The acquisition of the golf course was not subject to a public vote; instead, certificates of obligation were utilized for this purpose. There is more to the story regarding the golf course, and more details can be found using this link.
Golf Course – Property Taxes – JV Citizens
So why is the city council planning to use certificates of obligations now? The voters’ rejection of the two swimming pool bond propositions showed that the amount and usage of funds matter. There is a limit, and the voters want details. Those on the city council are more concerned that the Texas Legislature is passing more restrictions regarding city financing and the property tax burden placed on property, especially private residents. Texas already restricts cities to either May or November election dates, and it is possible that soon, only the November General Election date will be allowed. Small cities, school districts, and emergency districts would select a date at other times when most voters would not bother to go and vote for something that minor. That allowed them to get those who benefited to control the outcome.
The current laws allow cities like Jersey Village to use certificates of obligations in emergencies like, a project is underway, and a new problem arises that must be addressed before the project can be completed, and they do not have funds to handle it. They cannot delay the completion of the project until another bond election, so they can issue certificates of obligations to borrow (sell bonds) without waiting for the voters’ approval.
Jersey Village City Council is not facing any emergency need for the $44 million. The $20 million is an amount they think they may need over the next five years for projects they may decide to do at some point. The $24 million is for creating a Jersey Village Town Center with property taxes by demolishing and remodeling buildings they just paid over $4 million without voter approval. It took them years of the “I have a dream” project of the “Village Center” that was going to be built on land that is only fit for light industrial buildings.
The city council has voted once for the certificates, and the second and final vote required by state law will be July 21, 2025. That vote may be concealed in a vote on a package of several items that will be voted on with no discussion. You could be sitting in the meeting and never know what they just approved unless you had read through the entire meeting package, which could be hundreds of pages.
Another state requirement for the use of certificates is that information about that must be posted in a local newspaper. The city posted it in a “newspaper” that there may not be a single resident who knows of its existence, and certainly has no regular access to it. I will let you draw your own conclusion as to why they did that and why they did not include the notice in the monthly Jersey Village Star.
All registered voters of Jersey Village are encouraged to take a moment to sign the petitions aimed at preventing the Jersey Village City Council from increasing property owner debt, which would result in higher property taxes. No homeowner has had a chance to see how much their taxes have increased since the 2023 bonds were sold. They have not told anyone that they will see even more increases with $44 million, which could be close to $100 million at the end of 25-40 years of bond payments.
