Traditional Finances Transparency Star
The Traditional Finance Award from the Texas Comptroller recognizes local governments that go above and beyond in providing taxpayers with transparent, accessible information about their finances. This award highlights our commitment to open government and accountability by clearly sharing financial reports, budgets, and other key data with the public.
Financial Summary
The following summarized financial information is for the most recently completed calendar year 2024. Revenues are recognized when earned and expenses are recognized at the time the liability is incurred.
The Authority does not collect property taxes nor sales taxes. Operating revenues consist mainly of vehicle registration fees (VRF) and truck overweight permits. The Hidalgo County monthly collects and remits the proceeds (VRF) to the Authority’s trustee bank. The trustee bank distributes the monthly proceeds as follows: first to debt service requirements of the Authority and second residual amount is transfer to the Authority’s depositary bank for operational expenses of the Authority. The per capita numbers are based on the estimated population of Hidalgo County.
Revenues and Expenses per Capita, Calendar Year 2024
| Operating Revenues (2) | $91,119,915 | $9.97 |
| Intergovernmental-grant | $28,764,609 | $31.44 |
| Other Income Net | $8,515,530 | $9.31 |
| Operating Expenses | $1,894,030 | $2.07 |
| Non-operating Expense | $10,518,279 | $11.50 |
| (1) Estimated Population for Hidalgo County. | $914,820 | |
| (2) Operating Revenues Consist of Vehicle Registration Fees and Permit Fees. | ||
The Authority’s 2024 personnel consist of eleven full-time employees and two part-time employees.
The data for the five-year per capita graph is outline below:
Total Revenues for: 2020–$7.5M; 2021–$8.1M; 2022–$47.7; 2023–$54.0M; and 2024–$46.4M.
Total Expenses for: 2020–$5.2M; 2021–$6.02M; 2022–$15.5M; 2023–$14.2M; and 2024–$12.4M.
Per Capita for: 2020—875,116; 2021—881,525; 2022—888,367; 2023—898,471; and 2024—914,820.
Source of Revenues
Vehicle registration fees, which averages between $5.5M-$6M per year, is the primary source of revenues for the Authority. A $10 fee per vehicle is collected by the Hidalgo County. The County transfers monthly the collections to the Authority’s trustee bank. The trustee bank keeps about 66% for the yearly debt service requirement and deposits the rest in the Authority’s bank depository for the administration expenses of the Authority.
Overweight permits are currently assessed to trucks, which travel in certain roads of the County. The cost of the permit is $200 and the administration is handle by a third-party administrator. The distribution of the fee is as follows: $170 is remitted to the Texas Department of Transportation; $27 is remitted to the Authority; and $3 is kept by the third-party administrator. The Authority estimates an annual $1M in revenues.
Federal and State Grantsare mainly for road construction projects.
The Authority is presently in the process of seeking funding to continue the next phases of road constructions. The goal is to attain a toll road project that will expediate the traffic flow of commercial trucks and vehicles.
Visualization – Five Year Trends
The Authority received intergovernmental revenues (other) in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The amount in 2022 of $36,828,152, 2023 of $36,575,925 and 2024 of $28,764,609 were federal/state assistance for a toll road project. Local contributions were: $105,000, $90,000, $80,000, and $80,000 respectively. These local contributions were the result of a tenyear commitment between the Authority and five local cities. Their final participation of such agreement was 2023.
Financial Data
Annual Operating & Capital Budgets
The Authority’s plan that shows the money it expects to receive each year and how it will be spent on operations and projects.
Access DocumentsAnnual Financial Statements & Independent Auditor’s Report
An annual summary of the Authority’s finances, reviewed by an independent auditor to make sure the information is accurate and transparent.
Unaudited Financial Statements
Monthly reports of the Authority’s income and expenses that, while not yet reviewed by an independent auditor, provide a timely picture of the Authority’s finances.
Check Registers
A record of the Authority’s payments, including checks, ACH transactions, and wire transfers, that shows how funds are spent.
