Garner staff preview $50 million five‑year CIP; bond sale lowers borrowing cost

Town finance and budget staff presented a preview of the FY26–30 capital improvement program (CIP) and an updated debt model at the April 29 work session, telling council a recent bond sale came in below conservative assumptions and staff will return with further modeling as the CIP is refined.

David Beck, the town’s finance director, said the town received 13 bids for the most recent sale and that UBS Financial was the low bidder “at a total interest cost of, just over 3.7%.” Beck said Davenport, the town’s financial advisor, had modeled debt service conservatively at 5% and that the lower market outcome improved the town’s debt‑capacity picture after the sale.

Sarah Warren, budget director, presented a draft five‑year CIP totaling roughly $50 million. She said general public improvements account for roughly half of that five‑year total—about $25 million—including…