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Vernon County board authorizes up to $4.9M in promissory notes for 2026 capital projects, votes 15–2 with 2 abstentions
Summary
Following an Ehlers presentation on the 2026 capital list and repayment options, the board passed an initial resolution authorizing general obligation promissory notes (series 2026A) for proposed 2026 capital projects; clerk announced 15 Aye, 2 No, 2 Abstain; board discussed amortization choices and tax impact estimates.
The Vernon County Board voted to approve an initial resolution authorizing the issuance of general obligation promissory notes to finance the 2026 capital projects. Sean Lentz of Ehlers presented a proposed capital list totaling about $4,761,000 and explained a 20-year repayment structure that matches repayment terms to asset useful life.
Lentz said the county’s existing principal-and-interest payments for current debt amount to about $2,159,000 and that the county’s AA-minus rating supports lower interest costs. He showed an example impact: "If I owned a $200,000 property in Vernon County... my tax impact by adding the new debt would be about $26.26," he said under a no-growth scenario.
During debate supervisors discussed amortization schedules, prepayment call dates (the committee settled on the eighth year for prepayment options), and tradeoffs between higher early principal to reduce overall interest versus tax impacts. One supervisor criticized long-term borrowing while others said targeted borrowing for road preservation is a preventative cost-saving measure.
The chair brought Resolution 2026-15 to the floor as an initial resolution authorizing issuance not to exceed $4.9 million in general obligation promissory notes (series 2026A). After electronic voting, the clerk reported the motion carried with 15 Aye, 2 No (Easter Day and Mueller), and 2 abstentions (Wilson and Stanek). The board scheduled bid acceptance and final resolution action for April with cash likely available for capital invoices in early May.
