Commissioners Court Approves Refunding Debt, Cash Defeasance

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Feb

26

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2/26/2015 10:13 AM 
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On February 24, 2015, the Williamson County Commissioners Court approved refinancing $100 million in existing debt for a lower interest rate and a cash defeasance of $2 million paying off existing debt. The refinancing of debt and cash defeasance together will save the county approximately $11.5 million in debt service reduction. The county has saved a total of $54.4 million through refinancing and/or paying off existing debt since 2000.

The debt being refinanced is existing debt from 2006, 2007 and 2009 issues with interest rates between 4 and 5 percent. The Commissioners Court’s financial advisors informed the court that interest rates currently are at a 10 year low.

The $2 million cash to pay off existing debt will come from the cash reserves in the general fund and debt service fund. The cash reserves in the general fund are approximately $75.5 million.

In April 2014, Williamson County received a AAA bond rating from both Fitch Ratings and Standard Poor’s Ratings Service.

The county’s outstanding debt as of October 30, 2014, is $869,791,503 million. In comparison to other fast-growing Texas counties, the overall debt per capita for Williamson County is:
•    Williamson County     $7,183
•    Fort Bend County    $7,482
•    Denton County         $6,742
•    Collin County         $6,321

The county’s debt is made up of 74 percent voter approved bonds for roads and parks with another 19 percent that is part of the county’s pass-through financing program paying for improvements to state roads that will be partially repaid by the state. Only about 8 percent is debt issued for county facilities that is non-voter approved.

Financial reports on the county are available on the website at www.wilco.org and click on “County Finances” on the right side of the page.


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