On November 27, the county made two bond sales totaling $11,835,000. The county got excellent interest rates, partly because it achieved a Standard & Poor’s credit rating of AA-. Ehlers & Associates, the consulting firm that handled the bond sale for the county, presented the board with a certificate recognizing this achievement. (L-R) Commissioner Fritz Sobanja, Carolyn Drude of Ehlers, County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers, Commissioner Jan Hall, and Commissioner Bruce Martinson.
The county sold some bonds—fairly big bonds—on November 27 and benefitted in the process from its upgrade to a Standard & Poor’s AA- credit rating as well as very low interest rates.
In order to keep the 2013 tax levy down, the county board elected to sell $2,175,000 in general obligation capital equipment notes to finance the purchase of road construction and maintenance equipment, communications equipment compatible with the state’s new Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response system and Sheriff ‘s office protective gear.
The county received four bids on this bond, and it was sold for a low bid of 0.9277 percent interest. Interest on the high bid was 1.0943 percent, and the difference between the two amounts to $17,635. The bond will be repaid in less than seven years.
“0.9277 percent is quite low,” said Carolyn Drude of Ehlers & Associates, the consulting firm handling the bond sales. “It’s the lowest that it’s been in 30 years.” She handed out a graph that showed rates falling since 1985 when they were at a high of over 11 percent.
Interest to be paid on the bond will be $73,517.17, and the total to be repaid will be $2,248,517.17.
The second set of bonds was for $9,660,000 for the construction of the new community center. Four bids were received, ranging from 3.1525 percent to 3.6454 percent, a difference of $753,063.07 in interest.
The bonds will be paid off in less than 22 years, with interest totaling $4,566,450.62 and total payments of $14,226,450.62.
“I think you should give yourself credit for being very clever in timing your bond sales,” Drude said.
Drude presented the commissioners with a plaque recognizing the county for achieving a Standard & Poor rating of AA-. It states, “The rating reflects the county’s stable local economy supported by tourism, extremely strong market value per capita, and strong financial profile characterized by very strong reserves.”
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