By Wayne Allen
Action taken by the Scioto County Commissioners on Tuesday resulted the payoff of a bond. When asked about the origins of the bond, the commissioner said it was complicated, but said they were glad to have it behind them.
According to information released by the Scioto County Auditor’s office, the debt that is being paid off is a Commercial Property Acquisition Bond Anticipation Note.
Records show the bond was originally issued in 1997 in the amount of $492,000. The auditor’s office explained, each year at the maturity date, the County would pay the accumulated interest and a portion of the principal (usually $25,000), and roll the remaining balance into a new Bond Anticipation Note. This year, the commissioners chose to pay off the remaining principal balance rather than paying a portion and rolling the remainder into a new note.
“(This is) another debt service satisfied for the county,” said Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis.
Commissioner Mike Crabtree said the bond was maturing, and if the county continued to make payments they would do so for the next five years before paying it off.
“This is where our projected savings from purchasing the building (courthouse annex) went,” Crabtree said.
When the courthouse annex was purchased earlier this year it was anticipated the county would save money by not paying rent for offices housed in the building.
When asked about other county debt obligations, the auditor’s offices provided information on county debts. The county has General Obligation Bonds, Farmers Home Administration Bonds, Ohio Public Works Commission Loans, Ohio Water Development Authority Loans and United State Department of Agriculture Loans.
The Ohio Water Development Authority Loans were taken on by the county when the county assumed control of the Village of South Webster’s Sewer System. When the county assumed control they did so knowing the system had outstanding debt.The county already had three Ohio Water Development Authority Loans related to the Minford Sewer Project. Most of those debts can be traced to the office of Scioto County Sanitary Engineer.
Other debts include General Obligation Bonds, which are issued to provide funds for the acquisition and construction of major capital facilities and refinancing of bond anticipation notes. The commissioners used these bonds to finance construction of the county jail.
There are also bond anticipation notes that are intended to cover short term debt of the county. The bonds paid off on Tuesday were these types of bonds.
The county’s total legal debt margin was $22,673,447 with an unvoted debt margin of $9,142, 235 as of December 31, 2014.
Wayne Allen can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 1933 or on Twitter @WayneallenPDT
