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Habersham County approves PNC financing for new animal control facility
Summary
The Habersham County Commission voted unanimously March 17 to accept a PNC Bank proposal and authorize documents to finance a new animal control facility through ACCGbricks-and-mortar installment sale, using SPLOST sales-tax revenue for repayment.
Habersham County commissioners voted unanimously March 17 to accept a PNC Bank bid to finance construction of a new county animal control facility and authorized the chairman to execute closing documents.
The financing will use an Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) tax-exempt installment sale agreement. Davenport, the county's financial advisor, recommended PNC after a competitive request-for-proposal process; PNC bid a 3.64% interest rate on a 10-year amortization and agreed to standard prepayment provisions. County staff said the county intends to repay the loan with SPLOST (sales tax) revenues rather than general-fund or property-tax dollars.
Davenport's Christopher Holt said the county received seven proposals and that PNC's rate was materially below the county's earlier planning rate of 5%, producing roughly $600,000 of estimated interest savings over the life of the loan. Jim Woodward, bond counsel with Gray Pindell Woodward, explained the ACCG bricks-and-mortar structure and that the project will be owned by ACCG until the county completes the installment payments.
During a required public hearing portion of the meeting resident Roger Green asked who would pay the debt. Tim Sims, interim county manager, said the county expects to use excess sales-tax receipts from SPLOST collections to cover repayment and noted about $5 million of SPLOST proceeds had been earmarked elsewhere (hospital paydown) but that the loan repayment plan anticipates relying on sales-tax collections.
Davenport's presentation included a repayment schedule with level annual debt service and semiannual payments; the plan shown in the presentation has annual principal-and-interest payments of just over $800,000 across ten years. Holt told commissioners the county's closing target date is April 1.
The board then voted to (a) accept PNC Bank's proposal and (b) adopt a resolution authorizing the chairman to execute the necessary financing documents. Both motions passed unanimously.
The financing package approved March 17 will let the county proceed with construction while preserving the option to prepay the debt should additional SPLOST revenue become available.
Votes at a glance (a) Accept PNC Bank bid to finance animal control facility: approved (motion and second recorded; unanimous) (b) Resolution authorizing execution of documents: approved (motion and second recorded; unanimous)
