Sandoval County financial staff told the Board of County Commissioners on Monday that a local bank last month altered terms on negotiated general-obligation (GO) bond financings, prompting the county to seek funding instead through the New Mexico Finance Authority.

Rob Burpo, the county financial advisor, said Century Bank — the lender the county had worked with since 2017 — notified staff one week before the scheduled closing that it would “increase the interest rate and triple the fees” and in effect make the transaction a taxable-equivalent loan. “We felt it was in the best interest of the county to forego further work with them on that transaction,” Burpo said.

Burpo said county staff applied to the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) immediately and worked over the holiday period to complete underwriting materials. He told the board the county expects a delayed closing in late February or early March and that the switch could extend the timeline by roughly two and a half months.

County counsel Jill Sweeney explained the resolutions before the board (items 12B and 12C) authorize submission of the applications to NMFA and publication of the required notice of intent to adopt an ordinance; final terms and interest rates will be set through NMFA’s formal process and a subsequent ordinance returning to the board.

Burpo and Sweeney described the package as covering public-works projects and longer-term items such as telecommunications and EMS equipment. Staff described the public-works portion as a roughly multi-million-dollar tranche and the longer items on a multi-decade amortization; in the meeting Burpo said the public-works financing would be on a 10-year amortization and the telecommunications/EMS items on a 22-year amortization.

Commissioners discussed market timing and interest-rate risk. Burpo said current municipal-like rates were in the low-to-mid 3% range for shorter amortizations and around the mid-4% area for longer debt, and he cautioned that interest rates have moved recently. “We just don’t know what the interest rates will be in two and a half months,” he said.

The board voted unanimously to authorize the submission of the NMFA applications and the accompanying notice procedures (voice vote recorded by the clerk). Burpo said staff will return with a formal ordinance and final terms after NMFA’s review and approval.

The board also directed staff to continue outreach and to keep commissioners informed about the schedule for the NMFA process and any material changes to expected rates or closing timeline.