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Erie council weighs policing facility financing: COPs now or a bond vote later?
Summary
Councilors debated using certificates of participation (COPs) to finance a proposed police facility immediately versus asking voters to approve a bond. Staff said COPs cost slightly more over time but avoid a risky ballot fight; councilors pressed for clear trade-off numbers and community polling.
Erie town officials spent much of their Jan. 21 study session debating how to pay for a proposed police facility, weighing a near-term borrowing option that avoids a public vote against a lower-cost, voter-backed bond that could be uncertain at the ballot box.
Town Manager Malcolm Fleming told council that financial advisers estimate borrowing costs this year of about 4.4% for certificates of participation and roughly 4.3% for an unlimited-tax general-obligation bond. "If you bond, you get a dedicated revenue source, and so that…
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