Cass County Commission approves arbitrage review, impact-mailing contract and two bridge work orders

At a Cass County Commission meeting, commissioners approved four resolutions to hire consultants and contractors for a bond compliance review, a mass mailing of property impact notices and engineering work on two local bridges.

The commission voted unanimously on a resolution authorizing the Cass County Treasurer's Office to engage Gilmore & Bell to perform a required arbitrage (tax compliance) analysis related to the county's 2020 general obligation refunding and improvement bonds, series 2020A. Treasurer Steve explained the purpose of the analysis and the financial context: "At the time, the interest rate that we were receiving was literally point 12%." He said banking benchmark rates have risen to around 5%, and the five-year arbitrage review will determine whether the county earned more interest on invested bond proceeds than…