OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – Supervisors should have about $12 million available by July for a slate of capital improvement projects after voting Monday to authorize a general obligation bond issuance.
The board of supervisors unanimously approved the bond issuance during its regular meeting at the circuit court building, capping about four months of discussion. The bond is expected to be repaid over 15 years without increasing taxes, according to Board President Marvell Howard.
Howard called the bond issuance a “smart move” by the board.
“We do have some projects that we’re desperately needing to try and get done,” he told The Dispatch on Tuesday. “It’s definitely going to be a good thing for the county … and not just roads and bridges, but we’ve got facilities that need some attention, so we’re going to try to address as many of the projects and needs that we have in Oktibbeha County with this bond money.
“… Not one extra tax dollar will come from taxpayers, and … that’s why we worked hard looking at all the numbers,” he added. “There will absolutely not be any tax burden on the taxpayers.”
Discussion about issuing bonds first arose in February, when the board passed a single motion declaring their intent to endow millions from the sale of the former OCH Regional Medical Center while simultaneously agreeing to borrow up to $15 million to go toward immediate countywide needs.
In April, supervisors increased that ceiling, unanimously approving a resolution to issue general obligation bonds not to exceed $16 million.
After reviewing the county’s available revenue streams, however, County Administrator Wayne Carpenter said he, along with the county’s comptroller and Madison-based Government Consultants, adviser for the issuance, determined $12 million was a more sustainable amount
The county plans to repay the debt through a combination of internet use tax and millage previously dedicated to hospital debt.
The internet use tax generates about $2 million annually for road and bridge projects. In addition, the county plans to reallocate about 4.2 mills, which were freed up after the October sale of OCH, to establish a total of about 8.3 mills dedicated to bond and interest payments. Those mills were repaying hospital debt before the sale.
Currently, about half the county’s internet use tax revenue is used to service existing debt related to road and bridge projects. The millage reallocation is expected to reduce that reliance to about 25%.
The county’s debt-service projections also do not account for the upcoming state-mandated property reassessment, which could raise the tax revenue a mill will generate by as much as 20%.
“Once the reappraisal occurs, we can come back, (and) do the math again,” Government Consultants representative Nick Schorr told the board on Monday. “… We know that we can safely fund $12 million. Our math will be, ‘Can we reallocate all the use tax … and no longer use it for … debt.’”
Howard said reducing the bond amount back from the original proposal has forced the board to reassess its list of priorities, though he anticipates the $12 million to still allow supervisors to tackle more pressing needs.
“We will be able to get some projects done that otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to,” Howard said. “… We also understand we’ll never be able to bond our way out of all the projects … and needs of the county, but we’re trying to address as many as we can, and we’re trying to do it in a reasonable fashion.”
Roughly $10 million of the funds are poised to fund road and bridge projects across each district, while the remaining $2 million will go toward facility improvements, possibly including a new equipment shed for grinding and paving equipment, a boiler for the chancery courthouse, a small administration building for the road department, renovations to the AbilityWorks building, which houses state agencies such as the Mississippi Department of Human Services and Child Protection Services, as well as other projects.
Butler Snow will serve as bond counsel and Government Consultants will serve as adviser for the issuance.
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