North Platte council approves parameters to issue up to $10 million in utilities revenue bonds

The North Platte City Council on July 7 adopted an ordinance authorizing the issuance of combined utilities revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 to pay costs of improvements to the city’s combined water, electric, industrial wastewater and sewer systems.

City staff said the ordinance is a parameters ordinance that would allow the city to permanently finance three completed water projects and retain authority to add future districts. “This first issue will be about $7,200,000 amortized over 20 years,” said Austin Partridge of Northland, the bond consultant, who added that interest rates for a 20-year revenue bond are currently “around 4.3 to 4.4%,” putting the average annual principal-and-interest payment at roughly $550,000.

Staff and the bond consultant told the council the city is starting the process now because certificates of substantial completion for those projects are now available and because long-term tax-exempt rates are lower than the short-term warrants the city used during construction. Partridge said the ordinance gives flexibility to include outstanding warrants for additional districts in future financing but that the city would not issue long-term bonds for incomplete projects until they are finished.

Council members asked whether the ordinance would lock in an interest rate for projects that are not complete; staff replied the first issuance would only cover completed projects and the remaining $3 million of authority would remain available for later decisions.

The council voted to waive three readings and approved the ordinance on a single reading as amended. The council did not record a roll-call tally in the minutes provided; the clerk recorded the motion as passed.