Cass County schedules public hearing for Sanford tax‑exempt revenue bonds; county not liable for debt, presenter says

The Cass County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a resolution calling a public hearing at the next regularly scheduled meeting so Sanford can satisfy federal tax-code requirements for proposed tax-exempt revenue bonds.

Ronnie Martin of the law firm Chapman and Cutler, speaking for Sanford, said the hearing is required in every local jurisdiction where a portion of tax-exempt bond proceeds may be spent and that the board’s role is limited to holding the hearing and publishing notice. "We wanted to highlight for the commissioners that Cass County is not at all liable for any of the debt that's being issued," Martin said. He added the notice the firm plans to publish lists the addresses of facilities that may receive bond proceeds.

Commissioners moved and seconded the request to set a public hearing. The roll call recorded the motion carried with four yes votes and one abstention; the transcript records the tally but does not identify all individual votes for public distribution. The board did not take any formal action approving the issuance of bonds; the vote was only to set and publish the public hearing notice required by federal tax law.

No specific projects, bond totals or facility addresses were read into the public record during the meeting beyond the statement that those items are described in the notice the applicant will publish. The county solicitor and staff confirmed the county would not be financially liable for the bonds in question.

The public hearing will be scheduled for the board’s next regular meeting; the applicant and staff will publish the required local notice ahead of that date.