County finance adviser outlines $38.6M estimate, proposes income‑tax‑backed bond plan

Jeff Peters, the county's finance advisor, told the joint meeting that the county has a viable plan of finance to support the preliminary $38,621,444 all‑in project estimate. He described assumptions that underlie the county's cash‑flow model and explained the steps to issue bonds and present final numbers to the public.

"We assumed that the bonds to be sold will be linear bonds...a 20 year bond issue," Peters said, and described using local income‑tax receipts as the primary repayment source while retaining property‑tax backing as a conventional bond credit enhancement. He cited an illustrative coupon of about 5% and an expected reoffering premium in the market that reduces effective interest cost for the issuer.

Peters said the county currently collects local income taxes and that state law changes require reauthorizing a new local income‑tax structure by 2028 that will begin cash flows in 2029; his plan models anticipated receipts under that structure and projects roughly $2.6M in annual debt service covered by about $2.8M of projected income‑tax revenue under a 2.4% applied rate assumption. He emphasized that final bond sizing and pricing will depend on the GMP and market conditions at the time of sale.

He also described standard municipal financing steps—appraisals, bond counsel review, public hearings and marketing—before proceeds would be delivered to the county. Peters said the county intends public hearings on financing and will scale bond sales to the actual GMP so the county borrows only what is needed.