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Council approves consent agenda but questions $26,000 extra bond interest payment; staff to investigate
Summary
During consent agenda discussion council raised a previously unbudgeted additional $26,000 interest invoice related to a utility bond refinance; City Manager Butterfield said staff paid the invoice to avoid default, and council asked staff to obtain the bond payment schedules and explain the double payment.
Port Richey City Council approved the Oct. 14 consent agenda after extended discussion of a bond payment entry that appeared to create an unbudgeted $26,000 interest charge. City Manager Andrew Butterfield told the council that the city had paid $26,000 in April and a $130,000 principal payment in September, and that an additional $26,000 interest invoice arrived for the same fiscal period. Butterfield said staff paid the additional amount to avoid default and because an invoice had been issued by the bond holder.
Councilmembers asked for an audit of the bond payment schedule, the original note and the refinance documents. Butterfield said the debt had been refinanced years earlier and that a portion of the payments resembled a balloon or anomalous schedule; he said staff would share the paperwork they received from the trustee and consult with the auditor.
Council discussed consent‑agenda practice and whether large, irregular payments should be pulled for discussion before they are paid. Members asked staff to provide the trustee’s payment schedule, the city’s budget treatment and whether the invoice represented a recurring new charge. Butterfield said he paid to prevent default and that staff will report back with documentation.
Council then approved the October consent agenda items by voice vote; the minutes and other routine items passed.
