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Albany Utility Board recommends city consider early payoff of GPO loan using SPLOST funds
Summary
The board recommended that the city commission consider using SPLOST 5/6/7 funds to pay off a GPO loan for the East/West interceptor project; staff said the payoff would save about $359,000 in future interest but advised a fuller explanation and formal resolution for the commission.
The Albany Utility Board on Oct. 9 unanimously voted to recommend that the City Commission consider an early payoff of a GPO loan used to finance the East/West interceptor project, proposing to use available SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) balances to cover the payoff.
Staff reported a payoff figure provided by GPO (materials list a figure near $10,000,076, as presented to the board) and said early payoff would save approximately $359,000 in future interest. Staff also noted SPLOST balances from earlierly referenced referenda could be reallocated; specifically, they proposed applying $615,000 from SPLOST 5/6/7 balances toward the payoff and adjusting the remaining SPLOST requests accordingly.
Board members probed the math, asked for clarity on the loan’s historical rate (staff cited an effectively low rate and noted attachments showing historical rates near 0.65% for the original credit structure), and discussed the trade-offs of foregoing low-rate debt versus freeing borrowing capacity. Several commissioners asked that staff prepare a fuller explanation and pros/cons before the matter goes before the city commission.
The motion to recommend using SPLOST funds to pay off the loan passed on a roll call; staff and the board agreed to prepare detailed resolutions and a clearer explanatory packet for the city commission that includes the updated payoff amount and effects on SPLOST budgets.
