City Council B Session - 2026-01-21
Meeting Intelligence Preview
Meeting Summary
San Antonio City Council B Session focused on the debt management plan and 2027 bond program options. Due to flattening property values, bond capacity has dropped from $1.2B in 2022 to approximately $500-625M. Staff presented three scenarios: $625M at current 21¢ tax rate, $1B requiring 3.25% property value growth or tax rate flexibility, and $1.2B requiring 3.5% growth. Council also discussed stormwater revenue bond options with potential rate increases of 10-16% over five years to generate $107-174M in additional capacity.
Key Decisions (3)
Debt Management Plan and Bond Program Discussion
City staff presented bond capacity scenarios for 2027 bond program. Scenario 1: $625M at stable 21¢ debt service tax rate. Scenario 2: $1B targeting 3.25% property value growth with tax rate flexibility. Scenario 3: $1.2B targeting 3.5% growth with tax rate flexibility. Multiple council members expressed support for Scenario 2 or 3. No formal vote taken - this was a B session for discussion and feedback.
Stormwater Revenue Bond Options Discussion
Staff presented four scenarios for stormwater revenue bonds: Scenario 1 (no rate increase): $10M capacity. Scenario 2 (2% annual increase for 5 years, 10% total): $106.7M capacity. Scenario 3 (5% first year, 2% thereafter, 13% total): $140M capacity. Scenario 4 (5% first two years, 2% thereafter, 16.2% total): $174.3M capacity. Multiple council members expressed support for Scenario 2 or 3.
Airport Revenue Bonds for Terminal Development Program
Staff announced plans to bring $1-1.2B in airport revenue bonds to council for approval in April 2026 to support the Terminal Development Program and CIP projects at the airport. This follows council's December 18 approval of $1.3B guaranteed maximum price contract with Hensel Phelps.
Development Activity (1)
San Antonio Airport Terminal Development Program
$1.3B guaranteed maximum price contract approved December 18, 2025. City plans to issue $1-1.2B in airport revenue bonds to fund terminal development and enabling CIP projects.
Market Signals (4)
Housing Demand
Property values in San Antonio have flattened with less than 1% growth in 2026 and projected 0.4% growth in 2027, following a pattern similar to the 2010-2013 post-recession period.
Infrastructure
Citywide drainage infrastructure need estimated at approximately $4 billion, with about $2 billion of work completed over the last 20 years.
Sentiment
Multiple council members expressed concern about cumulative rate increases from SAWS, CPS Energy, solid waste fees, and potential property tax increases affecting residents' ability to pay.
Infrastructure
City has approximately $2.6B in outstanding ad valorem debt with average debt life of 6.72 years, maintaining debt ratio of 1.52% of taxable assessed valuation - comparable to 2007 levels.