SPECIAL OBLIGATION BONDS

Special obligation bonds do not require voter approval and are secured by the county’s pledge to annually appropriate sufficient funds for debt service.

There are 16 series of special obligation bonds currently outstanding which are serviced by appropriations in annually budgeted funds, summarized below. The debt service payments for these bonds are included in the operating budget of the relevant funds. Outstanding principal as of 12/31/2022 is $363.6 million.

The County has no additional special obligation bond issued planned at this time.

Lease Revenue Bonds

The county has one series of annual appropriation lease revenue bonds outstanding.

Other Debt

The county has four additional transactions that do not fit into the categories listed above (excluding equipment financing agreements)

Tax Anticipation Notes

From time to time, the county issues short‐term Tax Anticipation Notes (TANs) for cash flow purposes. In April 2021, the county issued two series of Special Obligation Notes (Tax Anticipation), Series 2021 and Series 2022. These notes are authorized for the purpose of providing funds to pay and discharge the expenses and obligations properly payable from the General Funds in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, and to pay the costs of issuing the notes. The notes are issued in an amount not to exceed $95.0 million in the aggregate, and in an amount outstanding at any one time not to exceed $55.0 million.

The legislation authorizing this issue (Ordinance 28,037) requires the budget to include “…an appropriation of the amount necessary (after taking into account any moneys legally available for such purpose) to pay debt service on the Notes in the next succeeding Fiscal Year, and (ii) to take such further action (or cause the same action to be taken) as may be necessary or desirable to assure the availability of moneys appropriated to pay such debt service on the Notes in the next succeeding Fiscal Year.”

The last TAN borrowing was repaid in December 2021 and there is no balance outstanding. The county will determine if a new TAN program is necessary for 2023.