Petition Includes Enough Signees to Force Election

Issue Relates to Schulenburg’s $8 Million bond to Renovate City Hall

The effort in Schulenburg to force an election on the City’s $8 million bond to renovate City Hall took another step forward last week.

Chad Zimmermann, the Schulenburg property owner who organized the effort, said he filed a petition with the City last Friday. Zimmermann reported that he collected more than enough signatures needed to trigger an election.

Last month, the Schulenburg City Council voted to pursue $8 million in certificates of obligation (COs) to renovate the historic City Hall building on North Main Street in downtown. City staff moved out of the building in 2024 due to safety concerns over structural issues. The proposed remodel of the second floor has drawn some public opposition. The plan calls for new office space and a new city council chamber upstairs. Previously, the second story was used only for storage.

COs are one of the financing mechanisms municipal governments can use to issue new long-term debt. Another method, general obligation bonds (GOs), require an election by the registered voters. Both result in an increase in property taxes to pay off the debt. But COs do not require an election, unless at least five percent of registered voters within the city sign a petition. In the case of Schulenburg, that number is 81.

There is a third financing option known as tax anticipation notes, but they are generally used for securing shortterm debt.

Zimmermann told the Record that he checked to ensure the 93 people who signed the petition are listed in the Schulenburg voter roll supplied by the Fayette County elections office. Three of the 93 were not listed, he said, and one other had an address that did not match the voter roll. That leaves at least 89 qualified signatures.

Zimmermann said he plans to speak at the City Council meeting this Monday, Aug. 3, about the petition. Zimmermann said he conducted a survey of Schulenburg citizens about the City Hall project. He said he will share the results of the survey with the Council and the local newspapers this week. He said the survey results will also be available on the Refurb the Burg Facebook page. Zimmermann said the survey indicates public support for structural, exterior and first-floor support renovations, but not the second floor. Instead of the second floor, Zimmermann said the survey indicates citizens would prefer their tax dollars to be spent on much-needed water and wastewater improvements.