RAYMONDVILLE — The tax rate might go up if the city cannot land a low interest rate on a proposed $2.2 million street project.
The property tax rate of 75 cents per $100 valuation could increase by a half-cent if the city cannot secure a low interest rate when it borrows $2.2 million to fund the city’s biggest street project in about 15 years, Mayor Gilbert Gonzales said yesterday.
Noting City Hall was closed yesterday for the Easter holiday, Gonzales said he did not have financial information readily available regarding the city’s preferred interest rate.
The city is counting on landing a low interest rate when it sells $2.2 million worth of certificates of obligation in June, Gonzales said.
The certificates of obligation will be sold after the city pays off bonds sold in 2003 to fund a $1.5 million street program — the city’s most recent big street project.
The new street program’s price tag has climbed as officials planned for the project in the last few months.
Originally, officials were planning on a $1.4 million to $1.6 million project. Then in January, the city-contracted firm Ambiotec Civil Engineering presented a $2 million estimate for the project.
As part of the proposed $2.2 million project, the city would repair 34 streets, Gonzales said.
City Manager Eleazar Garcia estimates the city will spend about $40,000 per city block.
“Some streets need (repairs) pretty bad,” Gonzales said. “What needs to be repaired, that’s what will be repaired. We’ll do extra if we get money left over.”
Gonzales said some intersections need repair as a result of damage caused by standing rain water.
“Flooding contributes to it, especially the intersections,” he said. “They really get wracked in a downpour.”
Streets are being selected for repair based on criteria including street conditions, traffic volume, proximity to major thoroughfares and schools and residents’ complaints.
