Joel DeMar, director of administrative services for Lake County, told the Board of Commissioners that Moody's affirmed the county's AA1 bond rating and that recent debt actions will allow the county to pay down $25 million of short-term notes used for the public safety center.

"I'm pleased to announce some positive news for Lake County," DeMar said. He told the board that he, Jason Boyd and Zach Underwood held a rating call with Moody's and that Moody's released a press statement saying the county maintained its double-A1 rating. "This reflects the continued strength of our financial management, our stable local economy, and our responsible approach to budgeting and long term planning," DeMar said.

DeMar said the resolutions before the board let the county consolidate and time several debt issuances together, creating economies of scale. He said those actions will permit the county to pay down $25,000,000 of outstanding notes tied to the public safety center project; county staff previously issued $50,000,000 in short-term notes for that project after a total borrowing of $115,000,000, of which $65,000,000 was in long-term bonds and $50,000,000 was in notes.

The debt actions DeMar discussed included (1) up to $600,000 in bonds to fund special-assessment-backed sanitary sewer work for the Kirtland Old Town Sanitary Sewer Project, (2) notes not to exceed $25,000,000 in anticipation of bonds for the County Correctional Facilities project, and (3) notes not to exceed $7,000,000 in anticipation of bonds for county road improvements. DeMar said approaching the market for these issuances together produced savings and allowed the county to reduce its short-term debt level more quickly.

Commissioners and county officials praised staff and department heads for budget discipline and cooperation across departments. Commissioners said paying down the notes will reduce the county's long-term interest burden and help keep the budget sustainable. Those remarks were offered during the resolutions and votes recorded by the clerk.

The board approved the debt-related resolutions during the meeting; the board also approved a series of other departmental and purchase-voucher resolutions (see the Votes at a Glance summary). The clerk noted the county will hold a workshop at 10:30 a.m. and that the next regular commissioner meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9, and Thursday, Sept. 11, both at 10 a.m.