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Largest bond sale in county history set for Tuesday

Subhead
$4.5 million to be used for capital improvements at courthouse
By
Mavis Fodness

Rock County Commissioners will meet Tuesday, Jan. 25, to finalize the county’s largest general obligation bond sale to date.
The $4.5 million is for capital improvements in the courthouse and the health and human services building, primarily for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
George Eilertson with Northland Securities of Minneapolis is brokering the upcoming bond sale.
He said the 20-year bond will also refinance $915,000 remaining on a 2015 bond for library work and the local share of the countywide broadband project.
Refinancing is estimated to save the county $118,908.
The new bond is estimated to have an average interest rate from 1.62 to 1.75 percent.
“It’s a good market for the issuance of new bonds,” Eilertson said. “We are not at 40-year lows, but we are close to it.”
He said the county’s AA+ credit rating, along with low debt amount of $5.8 million the county is currently repaying, will attract more interest in the bond sale.
Eifertson also examined overlapping debt that could impact county residents:
•city of Luverne, $20.7 million.
•city of Kenneth, $165,866.
•city of Magnolia, $325,000.
•Hills-Beaver Creek School District, $8.4 million.
•Luverne School District, $26.9 million.
Rocky County is currently repaying a $2.2 million rural water general obligation bond sold in 2016.
The 2022 bond sale will be Monday, Jan. 24, and the County Board meeting was moved from Jan. 18 to Jan. 25 to accommodate the results of the sale.
Prior to Tuesday’s sale, the largest county bond sale was $3.970 million, issued in 2014 for road and bridge improvements. That debt was paid through annual wind production taxes.
The wind revenue is also repaying the broadband portion of the 2015 bond. The library remodel is repaid through the county’s annual property tax levies.
The 2022 bond will be repaid through tax abatement and future property tax levies.
Rock County’s August public hearing for its five-year capital improvement plan identified $21.8 million in capital expenditures.

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