Stone Harbor leaders outline $9.395 million bond plan for flood mitigation, roads and recreation

Cynthia Lindsay, the Borough of Stone Harbor chief financial officer, presented a proposed bond ordinance totaling $9,395,661 and said the borough would include a 5% down payment of $310,563 to fund a package of capital projects focusing on flood mitigation, road improvements and recreation.

"The Capital Plan focuses on these areas," Lindsay told the council during a July 1 work session. Auditor Michael Garcia said the borough's debt picture can be understood in three categories—debt already issued, debt authorized but not issued, and potential future authorizations—and that current projections show that outstanding debt would be paid off by 2034 under the present plan.

Lindsay described capital planning as a cross-departmental process in which chairs form a super-committee to prioritize projects; she told the council the municipality remains well below the statutory debt capacity: "the maximum amount of debt that a municipality can have is 3.5%," and she said Stone Harbor's equalized value exceeds $8 billion.

Council members expressed reservations about the spending balance. Mayor Timothy J. Carney said he was concerned the plan favored infrastructure at the expense of other departments such as public safety. Councilmember Jennifer Gensemer asked for alternatives to the presented plan; Councilmember Ken Biddick cautioned that selling municipal water reserves to private utilities has in other towns produced large rate increases for residents. The council did not take a final vote on the bond ordinance during the work session; next steps were not specified in the transcript.

The CFO's presentation and the auditor's analysis will form the basis for further review by the council and any future introduction of a formal bond ordinance on the governing body's regular meeting agenda.