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Paris council authorizes staff to pursue tax note to fund police roofs and rescue truck
Summary
The council voted to let staff proceed with plans to issue a short-term tax note of roughly $2.4 million to fund roof replacements and a rescue truck; Samco said the six-year structure would have only a small, modeled tax-rate impact and staff will return next month with sale documents.
The Paris City Council on March 23 authorized staff to proceed with preparations to issue a short-term tax note to finance roughly $2.4 million in capital needs, including repairs to leaking police roofs and the purchase of a new rescue truck for the fire department.
Jack McClininy of Samco Capital Markets told the council the firm modeled the financing with a conservative, 0% growth assumption and a six-year repayment structure. "We factored in 0% growth in future years," McClininy said, noting the example schedule increased the sample tax rate from about 0.1646 to 0.1726. He said the city would not sell the notes tonight; if council authorized staff to proceed, Samco would return next month with documents to take the notes to market.
Police leadership told council roofs at multiple PD facilities have been repeatedly patched and that leaks are occurring above the evidence room. "If it gets our evidence wet, then we lose all those cases," the police chief said, urging replacement rather than temporary fixes. The fire chief said purchasing a new rescue truck now would keep the department on schedule for apparatus rotation; he noted a new rescue truck has an approximately four-year build time.
Council members praised staff for seeking options to "catch up" on deferred facilities and equipment and asked for a prompt timetable. After brief discussion, a council member moved that staff proceed; the motion passed (recorded as "40"). Staff will return next month with final sale materials if council maintains its direction.
The action was procedural authorization to continue planning and does not itself authorize a final debt sale or spending; any final issuance and contracts will require subsequent council action.
