Maverick County Commissioners Court Rush to Trample Citizens Right to Petition $7.2 Million Bonds Resulted in Incomplete Process to Formally Approve $24 Million Texas Water Development Board Water Treatment Plant Project, Requiring Special Meeting on Monday, November 6, 2023 to Legally Approve Project
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
After a tumultuous and chaotic Maverick County Commissioners Court meeting held on Monday, October 30, 2023, to legally approve the issuance of $7.2 million of Maverick County Certificates of Obligations (bonds) as the county’s 30% matching contribution towards the $24 million Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) project to expand the Maverick County Water Treatment Plant was rushed to trample or deny over 1,665 valid and verified Maverick County registered voters petition signatures calling for a referendum election of the bonds may have resulted in an incomplete process in formally approving said bonds, requiring County Commissioners Court to issue and post a Special Meeting Agenda late Friday, November 3, 2023, scheduling another meeting to address the now controversial project on Monday, November 6, 2023, at 5 p.m. at Commissioners Court in the Maverick County Courthouse, 500 Quarry Street, Eagle Pass, Texas.
Maverick County citizens and taxpayers now have a second bite at the apple to express their personal opinions concerning whether the issuance of $7.2 million in bonds called “Combination Tax and Subordinate Lien Revenue Certificates of Obligation Series 2023” for the TWDB’s $24 million project should be decided at a referendum election instead of approved by a resolution from Commissioners Court.
According to the Agenda of the scheduled November 6, 2023 Commissioners Court Special Meeting, agenda item No. 6 calls for “discussion and appropriate action to consider and adopt an order authorizing the issuance of Maverick County, Texas Combination Tax and Subordinate Lien Revenue Certificate of Obligation, Series 2023, in the principal amount of $7,200,000.00 and awarding the sale of such certificates to the Texas Water Development Board.”
In addition, Agenda item No. 7 calls for the “discussion and appropriate action to consider and adopt a Resolution authorizing and approving a grant agreement with the Texas Water Development Board in the amount of $16,000,000.00; and resolving other matters incident and relating thereto.”
Furthermore, Agenda item No. 8 calls for the “discussion and appropriate action to adopt an order authorizing Maverick County, Texas to proceed with filing a declaratory judgment related to Certificate of Obligation pursuant to Chapter 1205 of the Texas Government Code.”
All three agenda items were placed by Maverick County Judge Ramsey English Cantu for discussion and appropriate action.
Missing from the November 6, 2023 Special meeting agenda is an agenda item calling for the discussion and possible action regarding the validity or reconsideration of the concerned citizens’ petition requesting a referendum election of the $7.2 million of certificates of obligations (bonds) since Maverick County Elections Administrator Isamari Sanchez-Villarreal verified in her report of the petition signatures that more than the minimum threshold of 1,552 registered voters had been satisfied with 1,665 verified or validated signatures by her and her staff.
County Elections Administrator Sanchez-Villarreal noted that although 668 signatures were not verified or validated, there were sufficient verified or validated signatures (1,665) to ratify (approve) the petition calling for the referendum election of the $7.2 million bonds. Sanchez-Villarreal did not state in her report that there had been irregularities that could have tainted the petition signature gathering process as being forgery or fraud, despite finding one deceased person to have allegedly signed the petition.
Instead, County Judge Cantu and County Attorney Jaime “A. J.” Iracheta opined and raised the allegation of possible forgery and fraud may have tainted the integrity of the petition signatures with 668 of them being unverified or invalidated. But both never addressed Elections Administrator Sanchez-Villarreal’s report that the minimum threshold of signatures had been verified or validated to ratify (approve) the petition. Sanchez-Villarreal reported 1,665 signatures as verified or validated while only 1,552 signatures were needed to satisfy the minimum threshold to call for a referendum election.
In their haste to trample the petition signatures, County Commissioner Roberto Ruiz motion to approve agenda item no 33 of the October 30, 2023 meeting, which was seconded by County Commissioner Olga M. Ramos and passed on a 4-1 split vote with Cantu, Ruiz, Ramos, and County Commissioner Roxi Rios in favor and County Commissioner Gerardo “Jerry” Morales against. Agenda item no. 33 that was approved only called for “discussion and appropriate action to adopt an order of Maverick County, Texas Declaring projects of the Certificates of Obligations as necessary to preserve the public health of the residents of the Maverick County, Texas.” Thus, Commissioners Court found that there is a public emergency causing danger to the public health and safety of county residents due to the poor state of the county water treatment plant, trumping the petition submitted by 1,665 registered voters for a referendum election.
With agenda item no. 33 of the October 30th meeting approved, Judge Cantu and Commissioners Court failed to address Agenda items Nos. 30, 31, 32, and 34 and proceeded to quickly handle a few other agenda items before adjourning the meeting without legally approving the agenda items needed to formally approve the issuance of the $7.2 million bonds and acceptance of the TWDB agreement of the $16.8 million grant. Thus, the reason why Commissioners Court are now having to hold the Special meeting on November 6, 2023 to approve the agenda items they failed to do so at the controversial October 30, 2023 meeting.
Referendum petition proponents contend that they are for progress in Maverick County, but they simply seek to exercise their First Amendment right of freedom of speech, to assemble and petition their government for redress of grievances concerning the $7.2 million bonds. On the other hand, Judge Cantu and a Commissioners Court majority contend petition proponents are against progress in Maverick County.
The November 6, 2023 Maverick County Commissioners Court Special Meeting at 5 p.m. at Commissioners Court is open to the public. Citizens are allowed to speak at the public meeting during Citizens Communication for up to three minutes to express their opinions.
A packed Commissioners Court is anticipated for the upcoming Commissioners Court Special meeting on Monday, November 6, 2023 at 5 p.m.
