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Pottawattamie County approves $6 million bond plan to fund public-safety communications upgrades
Summary
Following public hearings, the Board authorized issuance and sale of up to $6 million in General Obligation Capital Loan Notes to finance peace officer equipment and emergency communications infrastructure, set levies to repay the notes and later awarded the notes to Robert W. Baird.
Pottawattamie County supervisors completed a multi-step process in February and April to authorize, advertise and sell up to $6 million in General Obligation Capital Loan Notes to fund public-safety communications equipment and systems.
On Feb. 3 the Board approved moving forward with a $6 million general capital bond; it followed with Resolution No. 13-2026 to set and publish a public hearing and notice on the proposed loan agreement and the issuance of notes to fund peace officer equipment and emergency communications including towers, microwaves and consoles. After the scheduled hearing, the Board adopted a resolution instituting proceedings (Res. No. 18-2026) and then Res. No. 15-2026 authorizing issuance of the notes and levying a tax schedule for debt service. The resolution included an estimate of the annual tax increase on a $100,000 residential property.
On April 14 (special scheduled session) the Board directed sale of the Series 2026 notes and awarded the bonds to Robert W. Baird; the sale terms and purchase price were recorded in the resolution. Votes on the resolutions were recorded in the minutes; at least one Supervisor (Wichman) voted against the issuance at the authorization stage and the roll-call records show varying tallies across the steps.
The proceeds are intended to pay for peace officer equipment and emergency services communications systems; the Board declared intent under Treasury rules to reimburse certain expenditures from bond proceeds as provided by law.
