The city of Mercedes wants to make good on a nearly 20-year agreement it has with the outlet mall.

The city owes the mall millions in sales tax revenues.

"Let's get this thing paid off, we owe them the money," Mercedes Mayor Pro-tem Ruben Saldana said.

Saldana is talking about the nearly $5 million the city owes to the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlet Mall.

The city originally convinced mall owner Simon Malls to open in Mercedes if the city forked over most of what it made off the mall through sales tax. 

That was nearly 20 years ago, during that span, the city and the mall got into a disagreement.

"The outlet mall felt like the tax revenue was higher. The city was going based on what it was reported to the state comptroller," Saldana said.

City officials say between 2009 and 2016 their payments to the outlet mall went from a trickle to zero. Saldana also believes when they made that agreement, the city was not in the right financial state to pay the mall.

Earlier in June, city commissioners made an agreement with the mall's owner Simon Malls to pay what they owe over the next two years.

City taxpayers will pay the outlet mall $700,000 this year and then another $2 million this fall, followed by quarterly payments of $183,000 until that debt is fully paid off, which should be the end of 2027.

The money the city normally makes off sales tax helps pay for things like police salaries, fire services, streets and drainage.

Simon Malls has not responded to Channel 5 News' multiple attempts for comment.

"That outlet mall has been great for our community, for our city, it's a huge generator of revenue," Saldana said.

The city hopes this payment plan will ensure a continued partnership with the mall.

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