County gets better deal than expected in first round of refinancing of debt

Dickson County got an even better deal than it expected in refinancing $24 million of debt. At a called session of the county commission Monday night, Steve Walker of the Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund said the county was able to negotiate the interest rate down from 2.65 percent to 2.48 for the refinancing, which reduces the interest cost by over $171,000. Walker said the bond fund, which is part of the Tennessee Municipal League, also has lower closing costs for the transactions, which will save the county several more thousands of dollars. Mayor Bob Rial said this is the first of two debt refinancing plans that will save the county money by flattening out its payments, without extending the term of the debt beyond its remaining eight years. In presenting the budget last spring, Rial said the county was facing additional costs as its debt payments were about to go up under a bond plan with a varying payment plan. Through refinancing, Rial said the county could avoid the need for a property tax increase this budget year, but will not likely be able to fund any projects without additional revenue until the county’s indebtedness begins to decrease around 2017. Rial said the county could still see an additional decrease in the interest rate as it is waiting to hear from another financial institution and still has another round of refinancing debt coming up. The commission unanimously approved the refinancing proposal Monday night.