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Commissioners hear first public briefing on financing options for Lancaster County Correctional Facility
Summary
Financial advisors presented four financing scenarios for the Lancaster County Correctional Facility, outlining borrowing capacity, reserve use, debt restructuring and bond issuance steps; commissioners and local police chiefs asked questions about rates and operational priorities.
Financial advisors from Raymond James, RBC Capital Markets and PFM gave Lancaster County commissioners their first public briefing on potential financing strategies for the Lancaster County Correctional Facility (LCCF).
The advisors — Lauren Stadel (Raymond James), Jay Wenger (RBC Capital Markets) and Garrett Moore (PFM) — outlined borrowing capacity, possible financing tools, use of existing reserves, debt restructuring, credit-rating considerations, and four example scenarios: (1) single borrowing; (2) multi-borrowing with capitalized interest; (3) multi-borrowing with capitalized interest and use of reserves; and (4) multi-borrowing with capitalized interest and debt restructuring. They also reviewed basic steps for bond issuance, interest-rate history (2000–YTD), and long-term bond-yield forecasts. The presentation was identified in the transcript as the first public discussion of financing for the project.
Commissioner Joshua G. Parsons said he appreciated the work that went into the scenarios and that he would take time to digest the material before giving feedback. Commissioner Alice Yoder asked for one-on-one meetings with the financing team in the coming weeks; Garrett Moore answered her technical questions on reserves, bond ratings and the county’s capital improvement plan. Commissioner Ray D’Agostino noted that the Board had intentionally paid down debt and built reserves beginning in 2020 to position the county for a higher credit rating in anticipation of the project.
During public comments, Lancaster Township resident John Trescot raised concerns about the borrowing scenarios and county budgeting; Chiefs of Police Brian Wiczkowski (West Lampeter) and Robert Goshen (Mount Joy) expressed appreciation for the county’s continued support of the correctional facility and emphasized the Central Booking Unit as a long-standing focus for local law enforcement. Lancaster City resident Tim Stuhldreher asked about the interest-rate assumptions used in the scenarios, how rate changes might affect the plans, and whether refinancing would remain an option; the financing team and Board addressed his questions. The Board thanked the presenters and public commenters and indicated the discussion would continue at a future public meeting once the facility design and a preferred financing approach were clearer.
