Resident praises Oxnard debt refundings, says recent issuances mostly refinancings not new borrowing

During the public-comment portion of the Sept. 23 Oxnard Finance and Governance Committee meeting, a resident who identified himself as Jim told the committee that much of the city’s recent debt schedule consists of refunding (refinancing) transactions rather than new borrowing. He said he reviewed a list circulated by staff and found many refundings, including past activity in the late 2010s, and estimated present-value savings on some refundings he examined at between $15 million and $20 million.

"Some of these are refunding bonds too," Jim said. "I looked it up in the 2024 CAFRA ... present value savings or economic gain of probably between ... 15 and $20,000,000." He added that a more recent wastewater refunding the committee discussed is a refinancing with no net new debt and estimated the transaction will save the city "2 or 300,000 a year for 10 years." Jim urged the committee to recognize those savings and said the city's actions should be applauded rather than criticized.

The comment referenced documents circulated by staff (Jim named "Mister Molina" and "Mister Nguyen" in describing the schedule he reviewed), but no staff presentation or response to those specific savings estimates is recorded in the committee minutes. No formal action followed the public comment.

The committee clerk noted there were no additional speakers on items not on the agenda.

Because Jim spoke as a member of the public and no staff figures were offered to confirm or dispute his estimates during the meeting, his dollar figures are reported as he stated them and are not independently verified in the transcript.