Amherst County Service Authority approves engagement with financial consultant

The Amherst County Service Authority on Jan. 6 authorized its executive director to sign an engagement letter with a financial consulting firm identified in the meeting as CREW (also referenced as Cruz and Associates). The board moved the engagement after hearing from Archie Taylor, who reintroduced himself and described his decade-plus experience providing public finance services to the county and authority. The motion to authorize the executive director to sign the engagement letter was made by a board member and carried by voice vote.

Why it matters: The authority is undertaking a multi-part sewer and water infrastructure program that has seen major cost revisions and shifting funding needs. Board members said they wanted professional financial planning to evaluate options including defeasing existing notes, sequencing projects and minimizing long-term borrowing costs.

What was said: Archie Taylor told the board he had worked with the county in the past and would be the person conducting analyses and presenting the authority's financial master plan. A board member said the pre-meeting conversation with Taylor “helped me quite a bit,” and others praised his professionalism.

Next steps: Staff will finalize and execute the engagement letter so the consultant can begin work with the authority and county staff. The engagement is expected to inform decisions on the $2.5 million bond anticipation note, grant utilization and sequencing of capital projects.