The debt
The City of Amarillo had $42.5M in debt principal outstanding in FY2005 and $538.3M in FY2025, as reported to the Texas Comptroller. Of the FY2025 total, $212.7M is tax-supported debt, repaid from taxes, and $325.6M is revenue debt, repaid from pledged revenues such as water and sewer fees (what the debt is for).
- Principal outstanding, FY2025
- $538.3M
- Interest still owed, FY2025
- $190.4M
- on outstanding debt
- Tax-supported debt per resident, FY2025
- $1,044
- $212.7M ÷ 203,729 residents · peer group $2,931
- All debt per resident, FY2025
- $2,642
- $538.3M ÷ 203,729 residents · our calculation
- Scheduled final year
- FY2054
- for debt outstanding today
Principal outstanding, by fiscal year
Shaded bands show who held the City Manager's office, as a time reference only; they do not attribute debt to any person. Years after FY2025 are the scheduled payoff of debt outstanding today, not projections of new borrowing.
Data table
| FY | Principal | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| FY2005 | $42.5M | $15.9M |
| FY2006 | $40.0M | $13.5M |
| FY2007 | $46.5M | $23.5M |
| FY2008 | $71.6M | $38.0M |
| FY2009 | $108.6M | $43.1M |
| FY2010 | $187.9M | $54.1M |
| FY2011 | $202.0M | $59.3M |
| FY2012 | $191.8M | $53.9M |
| FY2013 | $190.9M | $49.6M |
| FY2014 | $197.9M | $49.2M |
| FY2015 | $185.0M | $43.5M |
| FY2016 | $198.5M | $46.2M |
| FY2017 | $242.1M | $64.8M |
| FY2018 | $316.8M | $110.4M |
| FY2019 | $298.3M | $100.7M |
| FY2020 | $335.2M | $97.6M |
| FY2021 | $404.1M | $114.8M |
| FY2022 | $412.0M | $107.3M |
| FY2023 | $503.8M | $157.2M |
| FY2024 | $533.9M | $193.0M |
| FY2025 | $538.3M | $190.4M |
| FY2026 (scheduled) | $498.5M | $171.6M |
| FY2027 (scheduled) | $459.0M | $154.6M |
| FY2028 (scheduled) | $427.1M | $138.8M |
| FY2029 (scheduled) | $396.9M | $124.1M |
| FY2030 (scheduled) | $370.4M | $110.4M |
| FY2031 (scheduled) | $343.1M | $97.6M |
| FY2032 (scheduled) | $316.9M | $85.7M |
| FY2033 (scheduled) | $291.1M | $74.6M |
| FY2034 (scheduled) | $264.9M | $64.5M |
| FY2035 (scheduled) | $237.9M | $55.2M |
| FY2036 (scheduled) | $213.0M | $46.9M |
| FY2037 (scheduled) | $187.2M | $39.4M |
| FY2038 (scheduled) | $161.3M | $32.9M |
| FY2039 (scheduled) | $139.3M | $27.1M |
| FY2040 (scheduled) | $116.5M | $22.0M |
| FY2041 (scheduled) | $94.8M | $17.8M |
| FY2042 (scheduled) | $74.4M | $14.3M |
| FY2043 (scheduled) | $59.2M | $11.6M |
| FY2044 (scheduled) | $50.7M | $9.3M |
| FY2045 (scheduled) | $42.1M | $7.4M |
| FY2046 (scheduled) | $33.8M | $5.7M |
| FY2047 (scheduled) | $28.0M | $4.3M |
| FY2048 (scheduled) | $22.0M | $3.2M |
| FY2049 (scheduled) | $18.2M | $2.2M |
| FY2050 (scheduled) | $14.2M | $1.5M |
| FY2051 (scheduled) | $10.6M | $880.4K |
| FY2052 (scheduled) | $6.9M | $427.1K |
| FY2053 (scheduled) | $3.0M | $133.0K |
| FY2054 (scheduled) | $215.0K | $5,375 |
City Managers
| Name | Office | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan M. Taylor Dates are from Mr. Taylor's self-reported professional directory profile; the City's list of former managers gives "2005-2011". | City Manager | Sep 14, 2004 | May 19, 2010 |
| W. Jarrett Atkinson Appointed interim on Mr. Taylor's retirement; NewsChannel10 reported in November 2010 that he had served "about six months". | Interim City Manager | about May 2010 | Nov 23, 2010 |
| W. Jarrett Atkinson Start is the City Commission's vote (his directory profile gives Nov 24, 2010). ABC7 reported Nov 17, 2015 as his last day (his profile gives Nov 24, 2015). | City Manager | Nov 23, 2010 | Nov 17, 2015 |
| Terry L. Childers Start is the Council's appointment vote. He resigned Nov 16, 2016; his contract's effective end date was reported as Dec 16, 2016. | Interim City Manager | Nov 17, 2015 | Nov 16, 2016 |
| Bob Cowell Jr. Asked to lead the City on Nov 16, 2016; his appointment as interim was reported Nov 23, 2016. | Interim City Manager | Nov 16, 2016 | Feb 20, 2017 (when successor began) |
| Jared Miller Start is the date set when he was selected ("on or before Feb. 20"). Council voted to fire him Aug 22, 2023 and accepted a separation agreement Aug 23, 2023. | City Manager | Feb 20, 2017 | Aug 22, 2023 |
| Andrew Freeman Reported Aug 23, 2023 as serving as interim; formally appointed by Council in September 2023. Stepped down Mar 6, 2024. | Interim City Manager | Aug 23, 2023 | Mar 6, 2024 |
| Floyd Hartman | Interim City Manager | Mar 12, 2024 | Jul 29, 2024 (when successor began) |
| Grayson Path Sources differ on the start. The original agreement set Aug 12, 2024; the Amarillo Tribune reported the Council amended it July 9 to make July 29 his first day. The City's page has stated Aug 12. | City Manager | Jul 29, 2024 | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Andrew Freeman | Acting City Manager | Sep 22, 2026 | present |
Per resident, versus peer cities
Tax-supported (general obligation) debt only: $212.7M of the $538.3M total in FY2025, divided by the Comptroller's population figure of 203,729. Revenue debt, such as water bonds, is not included. Counting all debt, it is $2,642 per resident. That figure is this site's own calculation; the Comptroller does not publish it or a peer comparison for it. The Comptroller's peer-group figure combines the nine cities in the comparison below, including Amarillo.
Tax-supported debt per resident, FY2025
| Denton | $9,245 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frisco | $5,270 | |
| Grand Prairie | $2,476 | |
| Garland | $2,314 | |
| McKinney | $2,124 | |
| Mesquite | $1,756 | |
| Killeen | $1,218 | |
| Brownsville | $1,214 | |
| Amarillo | $1,044 |
What the debt is for
Principal outstanding by purpose, as categorized by the Comptroller. Tax-supported debt is repaid from taxes; revenue debt is repaid from a pledged revenue stream, such as water and sewer fees.
Tax-supported · $212.7M
| General Purpose | $65.4M | 30.7% |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | $58.7M | 27.6% |
| Refund | $26.7M | 12.6% |
| Other | $21.0M | 9.9% |
| Recreation | $18.2M | 8.6% |
| Fire | $12.4M | 5.8% |
| Public Safety | $10.3M | 4.8% |
Revenue · $325.6M
| Water Related | $265.9M | 81.7% |
|---|---|---|
| General Purpose | $34.6M | 10.6% |
| Economic Development | $14.0M | 4.3% |
| Refund | $11.1M | 3.4% |
Who was paid to issue it
Total fees reported to the Comptroller for the City's bond issuances in this dataset.
| Role | Firm | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Bond counsel | Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP | $547,150.00 |
| Financial advisor | Specialized Public Finance, Inc | $631,989.25 |
| Rating agency | S&P | $344,013.00 |
| Rating agency | Moodys | $14,625.00 |
| Underwriter | Issuances |
|---|---|
| Frost Bank | 3 |
| BOKF NA | 2 |
| Citigroup, Inc | 2 |
| Estrada Hinojosa & Co Inc | 2 |
| Fidelity | 2 |
| Morgan Stanley | 2 |
| Ramirez & Co Inc | 2 |
| Raymond James Financial Inc | 2 |
| Academy Securities, Inc | 1 |
| Advisors Asset Management Inc | 1 |
| AmeriVet Securities, Inc | 1 |
| Bancroft Capital LLC | 1 |
| Drexel Hamilton, LLC | 1 |
| FHN Financial Capital Markets | 1 |
| Hilltop Securities, Inc | 1 |
| Huntington Bancshares, Inc | 1 |
| Intercoastal Capital Markets, Inc | 1 |
| Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc | 1 |
| Rice Financial | 1 |
| Robert W Baird & Co | 1 |