In a nutshell
County commissioners voted to call a bond election for its 2024 Hays County Transportation Program on Aug. 13. The bond, called Proposition A, is on the November ballot.
The road bond would fund the construction, design and right of way needed for multiple projects across the county, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Whether voters approve the bond or not, the lawsuit seeks to stop the county from taking further actions to pursue the $440 million bond package.
The property owners who filed the lawsuit—Les Carnes, Cathy Ramsey, Jim Camp and Gabrielle Moore—are asking commissioners to appoint a bond advisory committee to shape the bond package and bring back a bond proposal supported by public input for a vote in May or November 2025, the news release states.
Diving in deeper
The lawsuit claims that the posting language for the road bond in the Aug. 13 commissioner's court agenda neglected to disclose the:
- Purpose of the bond
- Bond amount
- Proposed tax rate increase
TOMA requires that a “governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body.”
The property owners claim that commissioners violated TOMA Meeting Notice requirement, as agenda items must be worded specifically when the public has a special interest in the topic under discussion. The required specificity of the notice varies with the topic of the meeting—since the notice must be more specific if the public has a specific interest in the topic under discussion, the lawsuit states.
"Hays County taxpayers, who pay the bills that fund the county, have a unique interest in the amount of the bond package, how it will affect their taxes and what the bonds will be spent on," the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also claims that many of the roads in the bond—if built—would require eminent domain.
What the plaintiffs are saying
Ramsey, a longtime Dripping Springs homeowner, said that many of the proposed projects in the bond will harm springs and creeks.
Carnes, a Driftwood property owner and the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said Hays County residents were deprived of both the required public notice that a bond proposal was being considered and the right to participate in determining what should or shouldn’t be included in the bond, along with the total price and tax information.
“If the voters feel like they know little or nothing about the bond package, that was intentional,” Carnes said in a news release.
What the local officials are saying
In an email to Community Impact, Communications Manager Natalie Frels said the county cannot comment on pending litigation.
But local officials such as Precinct 2 Commissioner Michelle Cohen said the cost of the bond is a "big pill to swallow," but she believes that road infrastructure on the east side is "severely underserved."
Kyle City council member Miguel Zuniga is also encouraging Hays County residents to vote for Proposition A.
"We need the roads for many of these areas because the existing streets are poorly designed and a safety issue for many residents. More arteries in our city will reduce the commute to work and result in less time stuck in traffic," Zuniga said in a Facebook post.
