Senate committee backs language to let Bond Bank use revolving infrastructure fund to lower borrowing costs; keeps community-ranking metric

The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on May 2 reviewed new language that would let the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank use a revolving sustainable infrastructure fund in conjunction with its pooled loan program to reduce borrowing costs for local infrastructure projects.

Committee members heard from Michael Gaughn, executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, who described the change as legal clarity to allow the bank to use the revolving fund in combination with existing bond-funded programs. "We envision sort of using some of this revolving loan fund to bring down the interest rate on that pooled loan program," Gaughn said, adding the bank could make an "interfund loan" to its bond fund and then lend into a project at a…