How the proposed $5M bond would work: timeline, costs and voter steps

Commissioners heard a detailed briefing from Jay Glover of PFM Financial Advisors on a proposed $5 million general obligation bond to fund stormwater and transportation projects.

Glover said a town could phase issuances rather than borrow the full authorization at once and gave sample figures for planning: "If you issued $5,000,000 from day 1, that's about a $375,000 annual debt service payment over 20 years, level basis," he said. He illustrated that an initial $2 million financing could equate to roughly 0.22 mills on the tax roll and that adding the additional $3 million later would increase the levy to about 0.53 mills (and could rise to about 0.7 mills if property tax reform passes, according to the presentation).

Glover told the commission that the key operational deadline was Aug. 17 for delivering ballot language to the county supervisor of elections; if voters approve the referendum, specific debt issuances would still come back to the commission for separate bond resolutions with final terms. The municipal advisor and bond counsel explained that the referendum typically uses a maximum lawful interest rate to preserve flexibility and that a later bond resolution would set a "not to exceed" rate before issuance.

Commissioners and the public asked questions about interest-rate caps, projected market rates (Glover used a working estimate of about 4.25–4.50%), payment timing (semiannual interest, annual principal in typical structures) and how project lists would be prioritized if unexpected subsurface conditions increase costs.