Two friends that follow city politics have started a petition to stop the city of Stephenville moving forward with a tax increase related to a potential $22 million certificate of obligation (CO) funding street repair and a new city hall.
The petition was started by Nick Robinson and Keri Wallace who spent last weekend at two signing events at Starbucks and Family Dollar.
To stop the CO from moving forward, a petition with signatures of 5% of qualified voters within the city limits must be presented to the city secretary.
According to Wallace, this number is about 500 signatures and though the group is not disclosing how many signatures they currently have, organizers said the weekend’s signing events went “very, very well” Over the weekend, the city of Stephenville released more information about details surrounding the potential CO.
A complete listing of that information is available at www.stephenvilletx.gov.
“Understanding the importance of transparency and clear communication regarding matters that impact our community, the attached document provides information related to the notice of intention to issue certificates of obligation that was approved by the City Council,” information on the city’s website states.
On Jan. 21, the city council approved a resolution directing that notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation be posted to the city’s website and published in the newspaper starting a 46 day process. On March 18, council will be able to act on potentially moving forward with the CO allowing them to borrow anything up to $22M, or nothing at all.
A verified petition would stop the process related to this specific CO.
If the city council proceeds with the issuance of certificates of obligation in the amount of $22 million, the estimated tax rate increase would be $0.0900 per $100 valuation.
For a person with a $300,000 home in the city limits of Stephenville, the $.09 increase would equate to $22.50 per month, or $270 per year.
Currently the city’s tax rate is one of the lowest in the area at $0.3829 per $100 valuation.
“This just isn’t the right time. People are struggling financially,” Wallace said. “To me it was kind of sprung on us. The lack of transparency and bypassing the voters along with the lack of preparation of a street priority list is troubling.”
Though the debt issuance had been discussed for several months by council, organizers of the petition have stated those meetings were held during work sessions which are not filmed in the council chambers, though they are open to public attendees.
The city of Stephenville has explained on its website why the city is focusing on street repair as a high priority, and how that should also help first responders.
A significant portion of the proposed funding will be dedicated to improving and maintaining streets throughout the city. Our streets support transportation, commerce and community activities. This investment will focus on street resurfacing and repairs, traffic flow improvements, drainage upgrades and safety enhancements.
“Maintenance and repair of many streets has been deferred for many years, which has lead to deteriorating conditions and increases in the cost of repairs. Street repair costs have risen dramatically in recent years.
Mayor Doug Svien said the city has identified about $40 million worth of projects that need to be worked on.
“We have to have the revenue to complete some of these larger projects,” he said. “We need to stay ahead of growth if possible.”
The list of some of those projects is available on the city’s website.
“In 2024, the city council approved a $1.2 million allocation from the street maintenance fund to increase salaries for staff, including making strides towards aligning compensation for the Stephenville Fire Department and Stephenville Police Department to appropriate levels and trying to make those departments competitive with other police and fire departments,” the city stated.
The second portion of the proposed CO is $3.5M for the construction of a new approximately 12,000 sq. ft. City Administration Building (city hall) at the end of Columbia Street next to the existing Rec Hall.
“Over two years ago, to begin to address space needs for city staff and the community, the City of Stephenville purchased the buildings at 245 and 299 N. Belknap that were previously known as the Castle Furniture buildings. After planning for renovations and completing cost estimations it was anticipated that renovation costs would be approximately $750,000. After plans were completed and bids were taken the construction cost was given as $1.9 million which was revised to $1.6 million after discussions with the contractor and architect. After discussing further and deciding that the cost of renovation was too high, this project was abandoned and the City Council recently directed the sale of these buildings. This will return these buildings to private ownership within the business community,” the city information stated.
If this project is completed it would then allow for the sale of the existing City Hall at 298 W. Washington to private ownership.
Currently, two bills – HB 1453, filed by Rep. Carl Tepper and SB 470, filed by Senator Kevin Sparks – have been filed which would implement significant changes to the process of certificates of obligation.
Both bills reduce the required number of signatures from 5% to 2% of registered voters (instead of qualified voters), and changes the maximum length of time an entity can borrow money from 40 years to 30 years.
SB 470 also states that the entity borrowing funds must enter into a contract for the work within 90 days of the CO signing. The house bill gives entities 180 days.
Both bills have provisions that the issuers cannot use a CO if a bond for the same purpose failed to be approved within the preceding five years.
Organizers of the petition would like to see the city prioritize a list of street improvements, including an exact cost and a timeline of start and completion dates to begin street repairs and borrow the money based on those amounts if necessary. They would also like borrowing the money to be through a Certificate of General Obligation, which requires voter approval.