Commissioners approve plan to explore refinancing 2015 water and sewer bonds; staff seek savings

The board voted unanimously to authorize county staff and financial advisor Hilltop Securities to prepare documents and reports necessary to pursue a potential refunding of callable portions of the county’s 2015 water and sewer revenue bonds.

Departmental presenters said the action does not incur new debt; it would exercise a callable option on long‑term bonds and seek to lower interest costs while maintaining the same final maturity and security pledge. Joel Bridal, managing director at Hilltop Securities, presented preliminary market analysis and estimated savings based on March 25 market rates.

Key numbers presented: staff said about $36 million of the 2015 bonds can be prepaid or called beginning in July. Based on March 25 numbers, the refunding was estimated to produce approximately $2,300,000 in net present value savings (about 6.4% of refunded par) or roughly $260,000 in annual debt‑service savings; Bridal said even with a 50‑basis‑point rise in rates the savings would remain above the industry’s typical 3% threshold.

What commissioners asked: Commissioner Cox asked for assurances staff would revisit the plan if market conditions worsened before a July bond sale; Bridal said the financing team would monitor markets and not proceed if the economics were adverse. Commissioners discussed whether ratepayers would see an immediate rate reduction; staff said savings would bolster the utility’s debt‑service position and could be used to avoid future rate increases but did not guarantee an immediate rate cut.

Next steps: the financing team will prepare official documents, pursue a rating if appropriate, and return to the board in June with parameters and recommended final approvals; a projected sale and close were tentatively scheduled for July.