Montgomery County Commissioners Court on Oct. 8 approved selling $35 million in bonds that will pay for roadway projects through next summer.
The background
Voters in May 2025 authorized a $480 million road bond expected to fund 76 transportation projects. It was the first road bond in a decade to handle the population growth the county has seen and will continue to see.
Every so often, commissioners authorize the sale of bonds from that program to receive monies to help preserve the interest rates on the funds.
Currently, Montgomery County is spending about $11 million a month on roadway improvements, Budget Officer Amanda Carter said.
Some context
County finance officials said this round of bond sales is the smallest the county will make since interest rates have climbed higher than were projected.
John Robuck, who consults the county on investments, said this round is expected to give the county enough money for road projects through June with the hope that interest rates will settle down by then. The county currently has $57 million in the bank for road bond projects.
“National debt, the Iran conflict and inflationary fears have pushed interest rates up a lot higher than we projected,” Robuck said.
Right now, municipal interest rates are at 5.21%, notably higher than the historical average since 2001, according to a county presentation. Carter told commissioners they are still encouraged to spend on all the projects that had been budgeted.
Montgomery County has already received $192 million in total income from the bonds.
The road bond money is divided evenly among the four county precincts and pays for the construction of roadway improvements.
Looking ahead
Officials expect to sell the bonds around Nov. 19 and close on the sale and receive the funding in the following 30 days. It will be the third tranche sold.
The county will pay the bonds off through 2051.
