Transparency Stars (Debt Obligation)
Cass County is committed to Financial Transparency
Cass County issues debt to fund public infrastructure construction projects such as the new Law and Justice Center in Linden Texas and the purchase of heavy equipment for the Road and Bridge precincts. These capital investment projects are vital to the operations of Cass County and using such debt allows the County to complete such projects with repayment schedules that distribute the project's cost over the life of the Bond. The County utilizes professional Bond creation institutions, to achieve accountable and accurate financial structuring of debt to offer to the public.
The mission of the Office of the County Auditor is to manage the County’s financial operations in the most trustworthy and transparent method possible. The County Auditor is responsible for the fiscal operations including accounting and financial reporting, accounts payable, purchasing, budgeting, internal audits of County Offices, internal controls, financial planning, debt management, and numerous other operations.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts launched the “Transparency Stars Program” in 2016 to distinguish local governments across Texas that are striving to meet the high standard for financial transparency online and for going above and beyond in their transparency efforts. The “Transparency Stars Program” recognizes local government entities that provide easy online access to important financial data and that accomplish the following:
- Open their books in the areas of traditional finances, contracts and procurement, economic development, public pensions, debt obligations, and open government and compliance.
- Provide clear and meaningful financial information by posting financial documents, as well as thorough summaries, visualizations, downloadable data and other relevant information.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Transparency Stars program, please take some time to peruse the Transparency Stars application process and general criteria for the program before applying. Consult the Transparency Stars FAQ page for more information. View our Transparency Stars Webinar for step-by-step instructions on the Stars program.
If you have questions regarding this program the public is invited to contact the Office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts at 844-519-5676. Additional information about the Comptroller’s program can be found at www.texastransparency.org.
Cass County Dept Obligations
Cass County does not, nor has it engaged in any types of revenue-supported debt obligations. All debt entered into by the Cass County Commissioners Court has been via tax-supported obligations. Cass County has not held any historical bond elections prior to entering into any long-term debt.
Cass County has not, nor does it have any upcoming bond elections for any type of long-term debt. There are no dates for planned bond elections for any purpose or amount.
Links that may be of interest to the public:
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Debt at a Glance
Texas Local Government Debt - Texas BRB Data Center
Bond Review Board of Local Government Debt Data
Local Government Debt - Texas Bond Review Board
The following link is to the Cass County Budgets page where under the tab entitled, Adopted Budgets, the public may access the Cass County Adopted Budgets for the current year back to Fiscal Year 2013.
Cass County, Texas
The following link is to the Cass County Financial Reports page where under the tab entitled, Annual Financial Reports, the public may access the annual audits of the financial records of Cass County for the Fiscal Years of 2007 up to the current 2023 report.
Cass County, Texas
Specifically, the following link is to the most recent Local Annual Debt Report of Cass County. This document is the Combined Annual Financial Report as performed by a local to Cass County, independent CPA firm.
2023 Cass County Annual Audit Financial Report
SUMMARY, DATA, CHARTS, DOCUMENTS AND DOWNLOADABLE FILES
In Fiscal Year 2024, Cass County has only one (1) outstanding debt obligation. This debt is tax-supported. Any previous and future debt obligations for Cass County will be tax-supported.
Cass County does not have any lease-revenue obligations.
Cass County has no revenue-supported debt obligations.
The one Cass County Debt is for the construction of the Law and Justice Center in Linden Texas. The Debt Service Schedule is attached for review:
The following Debt Service Schedule was for the purchase of heavy equipment for each of the Road and Bridge Precincts in 2016. This long-term debt note was paid for in Fiscal Year 2023.
Cass County issued a bond in 2015 for the refinancing of a construction project for the Law and Justice Center in Linden, Texas. The following attachment is the Final Pricing of the bond which was conducted in 2015. There was no election regarding this bond.
Cass County Limited Tax Refunding Bonds
Cass County issued a bond in 2016 for the purchase of heavy equipment for each of the Road and Bridge Precincts. The following attachment is the Tax Note, Serice 2016 Final packet from the Public Finance company that helped Cass County. There was no election regarding this bond.
2016 Cass TX CO Debt Service Schedule--Tax Note Ser 2016-BBT-Final
The following Graph and Data Chart, lists out the Cass County total Tax-Supported and Revenue-Supported Debt for fiscal years 2020-2024.
The following Graph and Data Chart, lists out the Cass County total Inflation-Adjusted Tax-Supported Debt Per Capita for fiscal years 2020-2024.
DOWNLOADABLE DATA FILES
The following Debt Service Schedules are for the one current debt and prior paid off debt of Cass County, available in Word document to review.
Cass County Debt Service Schedules
The following chart is a downloadable file in Excel format showing the Cass County Total Outstanding Debt Obligations.
Cass County Total Outstanding Debt Obligations
The following is a downloadable file in Excel format that has both a chart and data listing of the total Tax Supported and Revenue Supported Debts by Cass County. Please note that Cass County does not have any debts that are supported or funded through revenues obtained by the County via fines, fees or any other methods.
Cass County-Tax Supported and Revenue Supported Debt
The following is a downloadable file in Excel format that has both a chart and data listing of the total County Inflation-Adjusted Tax as supported by debt on a per Capita basis.
Cass County Inflation-Adjusted Tax-Supported Debt-per-Capita
The following is a link to the CPI Inflation Calculator:
CPI Inflation Calculator (bls.gov)
The following is a link to the CPI Databases:
Consumer Price Index (CPI) Databases : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)
The following is a downloadable file regarding the two debt issues of Cass County.
The first Debt Service Schedule is for the Law and Justice Center showing principal and interest charges for the refinancing of the debt. This file is in a WORD document so the public may easily download the attachment.
Debt Service Schedule Law and Justice Center Note
The second Debt Service Schedule is for the purchase of heavy equipment for the Road and Bridge Precincts. This debt was paid off in 2023. This file is in a WORD document so the public may easily download the attachment.
Debt Service Schedule Heavy Equipment for Road and Bridge Precincts
Cass County has not entered into any other similar types of public debts for over twenty years.