STONE HARBOR – The borough’s new chief financial officer is planning two bond sales to consolidate debt. The plan comes in light of the borough’s persistent problem with the level of its debt and the high percentage of total revenue that goes to debt service.
In the 2024 budget, 21% of total appropriations, exclusive of the reserve for uncollected taxes, goes to debt service.
New CFO Cynthia Lindsay is planning a bond sale in which $9 million in existing general fund debt from five separate bond ordinances “shall be consolidated into a single and combined issue of bonds in the principle amount of $9,000,000.” Lindsay’s remarks came at the Borough Council’s Sept. 3 meeting.
Lindsay also told the governing body that the borough would be canceling authorized but not issued debt. She did not provide details on which previously approved but not yet funded capital projects would be canceled.
A similar strategy would be employed for borough’s water and sewer utility, where $19.5 million in existing debt spread across 13 bond ordinances will be consolidated in a new bond offering.
The council approved resolutions moving forward with the two consolidating bond offerings.
According to the Standard and Poor’s website, the most recent review for a previous bond sale gave the borough an AA+ rating. That rating is the highest among municipalities in Cape May County with the exception of neighboring Avalon, which has an AAA rating. The rating agencies will issue a new rating for the pending bond sales.
A separate resolution also approved at the meeting calls for electronic bids for the two new bond offerings to be received by 11 a.m. Sept. 25.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
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