GAINESVILLE - Gainesville City Council got some advice from its financial advisor Thursday;refinance the city's Public Utilities bond debt.<br />
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Dianne McNabb with PFM Group said interest rates are trending up for next year; refinancing would produce a low interest rate for both tax exempt and taxable bond debt service.<br />
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"We'll be taking it from interest rates of 4.7 and 4.22 down to 2.09 percent," McNabb said. "That's because you carry such a strong credit rating on your bonds."<br />
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McNabb said refinancing would save the city an estimated $2.2-million on taxable bond debt and $4.6-million on tax exempt bonds. Mayor Danny Dunagan liked the low interest rate.<br />
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"The main reason is our credit rating was just increased," Dunagan said. "We're one under Triple-A and that's going to be a huge savings."<br />
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Triple-A is the best rating available.McNabb plans to proceed with the new bond issue in November.<br />
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MORE WATER CONNECTIONS A GOOD SIGN<br />
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City Council learned that new water service connections are going up and Mayor Dunagan said that's good economic news.<br />
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"Last year we had 748 connections, in years past we barely sold any, so it's a huge improvement showing the economy's on the rebound," the Mayor said.<br />
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The Public Utilities Department predicts the sale of 750 new connections, most of them residential, for Fiscal Year 2015. An estimated $303,000 in materials and equipment cost would be paid for by the new water customers once service is purchased.
