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Bergen County adopts series of guarantee ordinances to back BCIA bond and note issues
Summary
The Bergen County Board of Commissioners adopted four ordinances authorizing county guarantees for pooled notes and revenue/lease-revenue bonds issued by the Bergen County Improvement Authority, committing the county to back up to specified aggregate principal amounts across several financing series.
The Bergen County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday adopted four guarantee ordinances authorizing the county to back borrowing by the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA). The ordinances, adopted on second reading, secure pooled notes and revenue or lease-revenue bond issues in aggregate principal amounts that range from $250,000 to $61,000,000.
The measures were adopted as separate ordinances but were considered together during the meeting. Ordinance 25-14 approves a county guarantee for the BCIA pooled note program, not to exceed $250,000. Ordinance 25-15 authorizes a county guarantee for BCIA revenue bonds or notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $15,500,000; Commissioners Marte and Amoroso abstained on that vote. Ordinance 25-16 secures BCIA lease revenue bonds/notes up to $47,000,000. Ordinance 25-17 secures BCIA revenue bonds/notes up to $61,000,000.
The ordinances were read by the clerk, opened for public hearing (no members of the public spoke), and then adopted by roll call. The consent and adoption votes were recorded by the clerk and taken as roll calls with recorded yes votes and the abstentions noted where applicable.
Commissioner discussion during the meeting on these items was procedural: the clerk read titles and proof of publication was placed on the record. Counsel reviewed the rules allowing remote participation by Commissioner Jermaine Ortiz before votes were taken.
Why this matters: County guarantees provide the BCIA additional credit support when it issues bonds or notes; those guarantees can affect the county’s contingent liabilities and the authority’s ability to obtain market financing for capital projects.
The board took no separate public comment on the financing ordinances and no substantive amendments were offered during the meeting. The ordinances passed by the recorded roll-call votes shown in the meeting record.
