Maverick County Outstanding Debt is $29.4 Million in Principal

By: Jose G. Landa
An Exclusive Eagle Pass Business Journal News Story/Copyright 2013

Maverick County taxpayers finally learned the true outstanding debt of Maverick County in an exclusive interview of Maverick County Financial Advisor Roberto Rodriguez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southwestern Capital Markets, Inc. in San Antonio, Texas on Monday, April 29, 2013.

Rodriguez attended the April 29th Maverick County Commissioners Court meeting to present the terms and conditions for the issuance of $3,090,000 Maverick County 2013 Tax Series Bonds for the use in designing and constructing a second landfill cell for the Maverick County Landfill under the operation of the Maverick County Solid Waste Authority.

Rodriguez stated that the current outstanding debt of Maverick County as of April 29th is $28,150,000 in principal and with accrued interest of $25,014,646 thereon totaling $53,164,646.

Rodriguez stated that there is a 2004 Certificate of Obligations debt of $3,535,000 with accrued interest of $822,888 totaling $4,357,888.

In addition, Rodriguez added that there is a 2009 Certificate of Obligations debt of $5,000,000 in principal with accrued interest of $6,240,938 totaling $11,240,938.

Another Maverick County debt is a 2009 Series Refunding debt of $13,960,000 with accrued interest of $17,426,938 totaling $31,386,938.

Also there is a Series 2009 Tax Notes debt of $335,000 with accrued interest of $20,100 totaling $335,100.

In addition there is a Series 2011B Tax Notes debt of $4,020,000 with accrued interest of $426,000 totaling $4,446,000.

Another Maverick County debt is a Series 2012 Tax Notes of $1,300,000 with accrued interest of $77,783 totaling $1,377,783.

The total debt of Maverick County prior to the issuance of the new $3,090,000 2013 Tax Series Bonds for the design and construction of the second cell of the Maverick County Landfill is $28,150,000 with accrued interest of $25,014,646 totaling $53,164,646.

Rodriguez pointed out that the principal debt of $28,150,000 will be reduced by a $1,300,000 payment in September of this year reducing the Maverick County debt total to $26,850,000.

However, Rodriguez added that the new borrowing of $3,090,000 for the 2013 Tax Series to finance the design and construction of the second landfill cell approved April 29th by Maverick County Commissioners Court will raise the $26,850,000 to $29,940,000 by the end of the 2012-2013 fiscal year on September 30th.

Rodriguez noted that Maverick County is on an aggressive plan of paying down the principal debt by an amount of $6,000,000 per year, which is a large amount of payment by a community of Maverick County’s size.

Unfortunately, the 2009 Certificate of Obligation debt and the 2009 Series Refunding debt, which is a combined $18,960,000, will not be able to be reduced until 2015 because of a restrictive no-call provision under the terms and conditions of that debt.

Rodriguez highlighted that Maverick County is making phenomenal progress in paying and reducing its principal debt as a result of its aggressive strategy to pay $6,000,000 of debt per year.

One of the factors that Rodriguez pointed out that is hurting Maverick County not being able to obtain lower interest rates on its principal debt currently is the failure of Maverick County not having completed and approved its annual 2011 and 2012 financial audits required by state law.
Without the completed and approved audits, Maverick County is required by lenders to pay a higher interest rate than is currently available in the market to those borrowers who have all their audits approved and filed on record. Rodriguez noted that Maverick County has an independent auditing firm that is working on completing the 2011 and 2012 audits and that the 2011 audit may be completed in late May or in the near future.