OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Debt Management Plan Briefing - January 21, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, January 21, 2026
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, January 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:41:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:52

Good afternoon.

0:52

The time is now 2.05 p.m.

0:54

on Wednesday, January 21st, and the City of San Antonio B session is called to order.

0:58

Madam Clerk, please call roll.

1:01

Councilmember Corps.

1:02

Councilmember McKee Rodriguez.

1:04

Present.

1:05

Councilmember Viegadon.

1:06

Here.

1:07

Councilmember Mungia.

1:09

Councilmember Castillo.

1:11

Councilmember Galvan.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Councilmember Alderete Camito.

1:15

Here.

1:15

Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez.

1:17

Present.

1:17

Councilmember Spears.

1:19

Councilmember White.

1:21

Mayor Jones.

1:22

Mayor, we have Core.

1:23

Great.

1:23

Thank you.

1:25

All right, today is uh one of, I know one of the uh most awaited of the year, right?

1:29

Our our debt management plan.

1:33

Um unfortunately it's not wonderful news.

1:36

Um, but it is um, I don't know if you all remember during the budget season when Troy announced this number of 500 million.

1:43

I don't think my job was the only one that dropped, right?

1:47

Uh, when we consider what our bond capacity has traditionally been 800 million in 2017, 1.2 billion in 2022, and has he will, as he will present, we are well well short of that um, even as we anticipate what it may be in in 2027.

2:03

So as we look at balancing, as we have routinely talked about, right?

2:07

The needs between major um investments downtown with the needs in our in our community.

2:12

Uh this number, which is going to be roughly half uh of what it was in in 2022, is really going to call for us to be thoughtful about how we prioritize, identify and then prioritize those needs across the across the council, uh across the city, rather.

2:28

Okay, Eric, over to you.

2:29

Thank you, Mayor.

2:30

Good afternoon.

2:31

Um, Mayor and Council.

2:32

So as the mayor uh laid out, this is uh the work that uh we talked about doing following our August conversation on uh the debt management plan.

2:43

So Troy is going to we we went back in um internally and with our financial advisors, looked at uh our underlying assumptions that we've been utilizing for some time now, um, looking to see how uh other major metropolitan cities in the state are addressing these issues.

3:02

Um we'll lay out kind of an overview of of that work.

3:07

Uh Troy will do that on the first part of the presentation.

3:10

The second part of the presentation, Mike Shannon will walk through because we wanted to talk high level about what a bond process um is, what a bond program process is, um, what the relative timeline is with it.

3:25

Um I'll talk a little bit about more uh a little bit more about that on the back end.

3:29

Uh we're not asking you today to um size the bond program.

3:35

Um we uh will come back based on the the feedback that we received today um uh to you later on in the year.

3:43

Um and you know the the the last thing I'll say and then hurry up and hand it over to Troy so we can begin.

3:50

You know, uh a bond program, a municipal bond program is one of the basic things that we do.

3:56

Um, and there is a fair amount of assessment in terms of need, capacity, um, community engagement.

4:04

And um, you know, as I look around uh the dais, there are um three council members that were here during the last process, and so we wanted to take the time today to walk through, you'll see different two different scenarios.

4:19

We have timelines associated with a May 27 bond program and a November 27 bond program, right?

4:25

Just so you can see the steps necessary um uh to get to a point where the council could be in a position to call for an election uh of the voters of the of the bond program.

4:37

So um Troy.

4:39

Thank you, Eric.

4:49

I probably did take you by a bit of surprise by talking about the capacity.

5:00

I think when you look at how we manage our bond programs historically, though it makes sense how that capacity is produced, especially in light of the fact that our property values have flattened out or have moderate moderate growth.

5:07

Also, we talked about circling back around in addition to looking at options of how maybe we can influence or increase our bonding capacity.

5:17

Is it a possibility to pair it up with the issuance of stormwater revenue bonds so that we can actually between the two have a higher capacity amount that we can issue in terms of debt one through our geobond program and one through a revenue bond program with our stormwater program.

5:32

During the budget process, we talk a lot about property taxes, but we tend to focus on the maintenance and operation portion of the property tax.

5:41

Today's presentation, we're going to shift a little bit to having a conversation about the debt service component and then how that debt service component actually influences the amount of debt that we have outstanding.

5:51

Our property tax rate today is 54 cents per 100 dollars of taxable valuation.

5:55

Talk a little bit about taxable valuation because that is going to be a term that we use throughout the presentation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget██████████████████18%
Bond███████████████15%
Debt Management██████████████14%
Infrastructure██████████████14%
Water And Wastewater Management████████████12%
Taxation█████5%
Stormwater Management█████5%
Affordable Housing████4%
Airport Infrastructure██2%
Summary of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Debt Management Plan Briefing - January 21, 2026

The San Antonio City Council met in B session on January 21, 2026, to discuss the city's debt management plan, bond capacity, stormwater revenue bonds, and airport revenue bonds. The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. and adjourned at 6:27 p.m., with an executive session in between. No formal votes were taken; the session was focused on feedback and policy direction for future bond program.

Discussion Items

  • Debt Management Plan and Bond Capacity: Chief Financial Officer Troy presented an overview of the city's debt management, noting that the debt service tax rate has remained at 21 cents since 2004. He explained that bonding capacity is driven by property values and the stable tax rate. Due to moderated property value growth, the city's bond capacity is projected at $500 million for the next cycle, down from $1.2 billion in 2022. Three scenarios for future bond programs were presented: Scenario 1 ($625 million with a May 2027 election and stable 21-cent tax rate), Scenario 2 ($1 billion targeting 3.25% property value growth starting 2028, with possible tax rate flexibility), and Scenario 3 ($1.2 billion targeting 3.5% growth, also with rate flexibility). Troy emphasized that the 21-cent rate is a target but could be adjusted under a new financial policy.

  • Stormwater Revenue Bonds: Troy presented options for stormwater rate increases to generate additional revenue for capital projects. Four scenarios were shown: no increase ($10 million in capacity), 2% annual increases for 5 years ($167 million capacity), 5% in first year then 2% ($140 million), and 5% in first two years then 2% ($174.3 million). The average residential tier 2 account currently pays $4.94/month. The increases would raise annual costs from $1.20 to $10.20 per year depending on scenario. Staff noted that stormwater operations also need funding for ongoing maintenance.

  • Airport Revenue Bonds: Troy informed the council that staff will request approval on April 2, 2026, to issue approximately $1-1.2 billion in revenue bonds for the Terminal Development Program and CIP at the airport, with closing expected July 15, 2026.

  • Council Feedback on Bond Capacity and Tax Rate: Councilmembers expressed a range of views:

    • Councilmember Viegadon (District 3) supported Scenario 2 or 3 for bonds and Scenario 2 or 3 for stormwater, stating that the city cannot afford to wait and must act responsibly.
    • Councilmember White (District 8) opposed any tax rate increases, arguing that the city should find efficiencies like in the budget cycle. He supported the $625 million scenario and questioned the likelihood of tax rate reductions in high-growth periods, stating, "You put three cookies in front of a kid, he's gonna eat all the cookies."
    • Councilmember McKee Rodriguez (District 2) supported Scenario 2 or 3, emphasizing that equity requires investment in underserved areas. He also urged prioritizing city-owned facilities and using vacant land for parks.
    • Councilmember Galvan (District 6) supported Scenario 2 and 3 for bonds and Scenario 2 or 3 for stormwater, stressing the need to address long-standing drainage and street safety issues.
    • Councilmember Castillo (District 5) supported Scenario 2, advocated for increasing the affordable housing bond from $150 million to $250 million focused on land banking, and requested that any sports district funding be a separate proposition for voter approval.
    • Councilmember Corr (District 1) supported Scenario 2 and potentially Scenario 3, noting that a half-cent increase in the debt service rate would cost a typical homestead owner about $11.70 annually. She emphasized data-driven prioritization and transparency.
    • Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez (District 7) supported Scenario 2 and Scenario 2 or 3 for stormwater, requesting a breakdown of stormwater revenue by district and consideration of commercial rate adjustments.
    • Councilmember Mungia (District 4) supported Scenario 2, favored a "back to basics" bond focused on streets and sidewalks, and asked for cost impact analysis on a $233,000 home.
    • Councilmember Alderete Camito (District 7) supported Scenario 2 or 3, citing the need to address long-deferred maintenance in historically neglected areas.
    • Mayor Jones expressed caution, favoring a November 2027 election to allow more time to assess the economic climate and utility rate increases. He requested a comparison of stormwater rates with other Texas cities and an analysis of property tax exemptions that reduce the taxable base.

  • Timeline and Process: Mike Shannon from Capital Delivery outlined the bond program development timeline, which takes about a year and includes community engagement, project scoping, council B sessions, and bond committee appointments. A May 2027 election would require starting immediately; a November 2027 election would shift the timeline.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal decisions were made; the session was for feedback and policy direction.
  • Staff will return with additional data requested by councilmembers, including:
    • Average cost impact of a debt service tax rate increase on a typical homestead.
    • Breakdown of stormwater revenue and accounts by council district.
    • Analysis of potential non-residential stormwater rate increases without affecting residential rates.
    • Comparison of San Antonio's stormwater rate structure with other major Texas cities.
    • Impact of moving from a five-year bond cycle to shorter cycles.
  • The council will revisit the debt management plan and bond sizing in July 2026, when economic conditions may be clearer.
  • There was consensus to consider a separate proposition for sports/entertainment district infrastructure in the bond program.
  • Staff will develop a financial policy guide for managing the debt service tax rate if flexibility is pursued.
  • The next step is for the council to provide further direction on bond size and stormwater rate scenarios.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. The time is now 2.05 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21st, and the City of San Antonio B session is called to order. Madam Clerk, please call roll. Councilmember Corps. Councilmember McKee Rodriguez. Present. Councilmember Viegadon. Here. Councilmember Mungia. Councilmember Castillo. Councilmember Galvan. Here. Councilmember Alderete Camito. Here. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez. Present. Councilmember Spears. Councilmember White. Mayor Jones. Mayor, we have Core. Great. Thank you. All right, today is uh one of, I know one of the uh most awaited of the year, right? Our our debt management plan. Um unfortunately it's not wonderful news. Um, but it is um, I don't know if you all remember during the budget season when Troy announced this number of 500 million. I don't think my job was the only one that dropped, right? Uh, when we consider what our bond capacity has traditionally been 800 million in 2017, 1.2 billion in 2022, and has he will, as he will present, we are well well short of that um, even as we anticipate what it may be in in 2027. So as we look at balancing, as we have routinely talked about, right? The needs between major um investments downtown with the needs in our in our community. Uh this number, which is going to be roughly half uh of what it was in in 2022, is really going to call for us to be thoughtful about how we prioritize, identify and then prioritize those needs across the across the council, uh across the city, rather. Okay, Eric, over to you. Thank you, Mayor. Good afternoon. Um, Mayor and Council. So as the mayor uh laid out, this is uh the work that uh we talked about doing following our August conversation on uh the debt management plan. So Troy is going to we we went back in um internally and with our financial advisors, looked at uh our underlying assumptions that we've been utilizing for some time now, um, looking to see how uh other major metropolitan cities in the state are addressing these issues. Um we'll lay out kind of an overview of of that work. Uh Troy will do that on the first part of the presentation. The second part of the presentation, Mike Shannon will walk through because we wanted to talk high level about what a bond process um is, what a bond program process is, um, what the relative timeline is with it. Um I'll talk a little bit about more uh a little bit more about that on the back end. Uh we're not asking you today to um size the bond program. Um we uh will come back based on the the feedback that we received today um uh to you later on in the year. Um and you know the the the last thing I'll say and then hurry up and hand it over to Troy so we can begin. You know, uh a bond program, a municipal bond program is one of the basic things that we do. Um, and there is a fair amount of assessment in terms of need, capacity, um, community engagement. And um, you know, as I look around uh the dais, there are um three council members that were here during the last process, and so we wanted to take the time today to walk through, you'll see different two different scenarios. We have timelines associated with a May 27 bond program and a November 27 bond program, right? Just so you can see the steps necessary um uh to get to a point where the council could be in a position to call for an election uh of the voters of the of the bond program.

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