Capitalizing on historically low interest rates, Palomar\u2019s Governing Board approved the refinancing of Prop. M bonds in September.<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 Taxpayers in the Palomar Community College District will save $21.2 million in future debt payments as a result of a bond refunding process that was completed on Thursday, Oct. 15.<\/p>\n
In order to take advantage of uncommonly low interest rates, \u201cWe performed a careful analysis of how we might optimize savings to our taxpayers, and identified about $200 million of Series C bonds that were eligible for refunding,\u201d said Yulian Ligioso, the Acting Assistant Superintendent\/Interim Vice President of Finance & Administrative Services at Palomar. \u201cThat represents an approximately 9.5 percent savings that will be reflected in property taxes over the life of the bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The refinancing involves approximately $200 million of bonds under Prop. M, the $694 million capital improvement bond measure approved by voters in 2006. The transaction was approved by the Palomar College Governing Board with the adoption of a resolution at its Sept. 8 meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled to be able to save our taxpayers such a significant amount of money in the coming years, thanks to the leadership of our Governing Board,\u201d said Interim Superintendent\/President Dr. Jack Kahn. \u201cProp. M has completely revitalized Palomar\u2019s physical presence in North County, and this refunding allows us to take advantage of the lowest interest rates we\u2019ve seen since the measure was passed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are refinancing these loans that are held by the taxpayers in our district from 5 percent interest to about 2.7 percent,\u201d said Ligioso. \u201cSo we are almost halving the interest, which has a significant impact on the debt service payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ligioso added that there may be additional opportunities to refinance other Prop. M bonds, \u201cif the market holds and the rates continue to stay this low.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"