County’s look at debt savings is a good move
Saving taxpayer money is just a no-brainer.
There’s a lot of rhetoric out there in the land of politics that is centered around money and the effort that taxpayers put toward funding government structure and programs. We have tempered a strict expectation that our elected officials will work to make our money go as far as it can.
Ellis County apparently has an option open to it that will help reduce the county’s debt by bidding for a lower interest rate on its bond debt. The county’s obligations are a burden on taxpayers that are worth examination from every angle possible in efforts to save money.
A financial expert working with the county on the issue thinks the county can save up to $50,000 on the debt, and that’s no small figure.
It represents a good chunk of road work and equipment upkeep, especially in an economy that has been somewhat unforgiving on the cost of the repairs and maintenance. Every dollar will help that.
To be sure, the money we put toward taxes that benefit county operation is not growing on trees, so we expect our leaders to be wise in spending it. That goes for the money we’re sinking into interest to pay off of the bonds that we’ve taken out to fund construction projects on county structures. It’s very common for government entities to spend decades paying off bond debt, so even the smallest, most incremental of savings is worth looking into if it helps to shave time off the long-standing obligations facing the county.
Our interest rate now is sitting a little over 4 percent, and hopes are we can get bids in that will reduce that to 2 percent. We’ll know more in early April, when the county hears more on the financing situation. We’re hopeful the savings are realized.
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on Mar 25 2010. Filed under Editorials.
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