Montgomery County commissioners received an update on the current state of the 2025 road bond program and debated the creation of several ad hoc committees for county functions at the Feb. 26 Commissioners Court meeting.
Background
Voters approved a $480 million road bond in May 2025, and according to an October Commissioners Court meeting, almost $70 million was dedicated to road bond projects in the first round of funding. For a bond election, counties take a vote on permission to sell bonds to investors to raise money for capital projects. According to the county website, bonds are tools used by the government to borrow money with interest over time.
The bond is funding 76 projects across four precincts:
- Click here to see Precinct 1 projects.
- Click here to see Precinct 2 projects.
- Click here to see Precinct 3 projects.
- Click here to see Precinct 4 projects.
What we know
Budget Officer Amanda Carter said the February road bond monthly financial report showed that with $2.6 million in interest earnings, the county’s bond funds totaled $130.6 million, of which $106 million was allocated to projects and $24 million was left. She said they were currently working on the next issuance.
“If [the balance] drops to below zero, we will borrow from the general fund until we get the next issuance,” Carter said. “We have spent, out of the $128 million original amount … $50 million, so we’re making good progress on those projects.”
Also of note
Carter discussed forming ad hoc committees to assist with the annual process of budget preparation; however, commissioners said that they weren’t ready to make a decision. The ad hoc committee ideas were for:
- Budget calendar
- Compensation
- Capital improvement
- Judicial relations
- Outside entities/social services
What they’re saying
“I just don’t know the limits of all these different committees. I’m just not ready to decide on all this yet.” Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said,
“I’d like to discuss how we even got here. … We get these people, we get folks up here that come up and put us on the spot, and the tax dollars shouldn’t be used, in my opinion, for some of the stuff that used to be taken offline,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray added.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler agreed to table the discussion to give more time to plan out the committees, but mentioned he doesn’t want to wait too long on a decision. Ad hoc committees will be revisited on the March agenda.