Washington Council takes steps to refinance bond debt
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Washington City Council held the first reading Monday of an ordinance to refinance the city’s pension bond debt.
Councilman Ken Westcott, who chairs the finance department, explained that the city will embark on an action he referred to as “debt smoothing” for the city’s pension bond debt, which stands at about $1.7 million. The move will spread the debt over three years, providing debt service relief, and freeing up about an additional $425,000 a year for the next two years.
“Our pension debt is huge,” Westcott said. “If we don’t do these things it will go up another $200,000 to $300,000. Without raising taxes, we don’t have the money to cover that right now. We’re just trying to find creative ways to find revenues to cover this debt for the next couple of years.
“The unfortunate thing with the pension debt is that it’s always going to be there,” Westcott said. “This is one way of staying ahead of it for the next three or four years. We can cover it with this refinancing. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to raise taxes.”
The city’s current pension bond will be paid off in 2026.
“We would have to pay off about $1.3 million that last year,” Westcott said.
Westcott stressed that the city is in good financial shape. Refinancing will generate some additional revenue so taxes will not have to be raised to meet financial obligations.
A vote on the measure is expected in August.
Also, two new police officers, Brady Stallings and Bryce Graham, are scheduled to be sworn in when council meets Thursday. Chief Steve Devenney said the new officers will bring the department to “full staffing.”
Other motions on Thursday’s agenda include approving the tennis court boring project and the purchase and installation of lighting for the pickleball courts at Washington Park.