Caldwell County Commissioners Court has not yet decided how many roads to fix at once, or whether to call a bond election at all. First, the Commissioners Court members want to hear from you through this month’s in-person and virtual open houses.

If the Commissioners Court does decide to call a bond election, they could choose to address most of the Capital Improvement Projects at once, or to prioritize and spread out the work. A bond election, with road debt paid over time, would allow newcomers to share in the cost of upgrading roads.

New developments coming onto tax rolls would help keep costs more manageable for existing residents.

As an example, according to a scenario prepared by the county’s outside financial advisors, an $80 million road bond package – factoring in the growth of property values that is both already underway and projected during the life of a bond * – would result in a tax increase of about 2.37 cents per $100 of property valuation, or about $5.73 in additional taxes per month for the owner of an average valued home in Caldwell County. **

A $100 million bond would increase that projected monthly tax increase to $8.19. A smaller bond package – of, for example, $60 million – would result in a projected tax increase of $3.26 a month. These are estimates, and of course there are many variables.

* For this scenario, financial advisors reviewed current trends and projects, and assumed a 20 percent growth in tax value for next year, 15% for the next two years, 10% for the following two years, and, conservatively, 2.5% for the remaining years of a 30-year bond. If growth rate continued at the current pace, or interest rates fell substantially, the impact on taxpayers would be smaller. If growth were to slow dramatically, the tax rate could be higher.

** The tax projections are based on an average-priced home in Caldwell County, which is $290,000.