City Council, March 26, 1992
A Special Session of the City Council is held Thursday, March 26, 1992, at five five o’clock p.m. in the City Council Chamber. All the members are present except Councilors Clement and Rabbitt; President Barry presides.
The meeting is held to discuss the Proposed TAX SYNCHRONIZATION PLAN for fiscal year 1993.
The first speaker is Mayor Metivier.
Mayor Metivier reads a statement.
Statement is ORDERED FILED.
Councilor Rabbitt arrives at five ten p.m.
The next speaker is Jack Rahill, Director of Finance.
Mr. Rahill distributes a hand-out.
Hand-out is ORDERED FILED.
Mr. Rahill discusses the handout. He emphasizes that the total cost of the Bond with interest is projected to be $69,288,700 over 20 years. By not synchronizing, it is projected that it will cost the City $75,188,694 for interest on short term notes and the lost revenue from offering the 4% discount on taxes over the same 20 year period. Therefore, synchronization is projected to save the City $5,899,994 by the year 2112.
The next speaker is Mr. Frank Jucknick, from Fleet National Bank.
Mr. Jucknick states that synchronization will help the liquidity of the City, which is an important factor when a City’s bond rating is considered by the rating services.
The next speaker is Ms. Maureen Massiwer of Fleet National Bank.
Ms. Massiwer states that the City’s bond rating is "A". It could be a problem if the rating is dropped, because many institutional investors cannot buy bonds which are rated less than "A".
Mr. Jucknick states that the ratio of net debt to full value is .81% to .84%. He says the median of all cities of approximately the same size is 2.34%.
Ms. Massiwer states that the projected value of the bond to synchronize would be $37 Million; however, she recommends selling Bond Anticipation Notes until the fiscal year closed so the City will have a better idea of exactly how much they need to synchronize.
Councilor Clement arrives at 5:38 p.m.
Ms. Massiwer states that the bond will be sold through a bidding process.
Mr. Rahill states that in the synchronized budget the City has to keep the budget tight. If the City over-spends, then a supplemental tax bill will be sent out to make up the difference.
The next speaker is Penny Register from Tillinghast, Collins and Graham.
Ms. Register says the City would need about $44 Million in the Working Capital Account to synchronize. There is currently $8 Million.
Mr. Rahill distributes newspaper articles relating to synchronization in the City of Warwick, which are ORDERED FILED.
President Barry sets a Public Hearing on the matter for Wednesday, April 1, 1992, 7 PM.
The meeting is adjourned at six eight o’clock p.m.