If everything goes as planned the county will be able to take a one time advantage to refinance debt into a general obligation bond.
What this means for the county is a savings of about $15,000 to $20,000 a year. Over the life of the debt this will save the county about $200,000. The debt was associated with the new jail, which came in at around $7 million. In round figures it is now down to $6 million.
According to Lucien Bourgeois, bond attorney who is working with the Simpson County Board of Supervisors, if the county does not move now on this the federal government may do away with the program and the county could not take advantage of the program in the future.
The savings to the county will be through the issuance of the bonds and the escrow of funds. The ability to take advantage of this one time offer is anticipated to expire with the new tax year starting in 2018.
The board held a specially called meeting on November 20 to start the process and meet the deadlines before the program expires on December 31, 2017. Board attorney Danny Welch said he would have to get with Judge Gerald Martin so the paperwork could be processed during the holiday period.
Road Manager Ben Warren reported to the board that the road department is ready to get another two bridges open but they have not been inspected. The two bridges include one on Heed Neeley Road and one on Macedonia Road. They are having issues with the bridge on 472 because of the length of the pilings and it taking longer than other repairs.
The board also approved buying two new John Deere tractors along with bush hogs. They will cost $91,000 each and will require a skid plate to keep from damaging the hydraulics. The skid plates will cost the county $1,000 each. These tractors will also come complete with front-end loaders. The exact details regarding buy-backs was not complete, but the county agreed this was what was needed.
The board also decided to purchase two new Dodge pickup trucks. These are 1 ton, heavy duty trucks with crew cabs and duallies with four-wheel drive. They will cost the county $31,000 each and are being purchased from Cannon Motors.
The next meeting of the Simpson County Board of Supervisors is set for December 4 at 9 a.m. in the county board room.
