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October 2009 |
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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City Scoop Continued |
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TAXABLE OR TAX EXEMPT BONDS VICTORIA AUTHORIZES BIDS FOR BOTH On August 24th city councilmembers voted 3-1 to authorize the issuance and sale of $3,475,000 in traditional tax-exempt bonds. They did not authorize bids in taxable Build America Bonds (BABS). Mayor Mary Thun cast the dissenting vote and Councilmember Tom O’Connor was absent. The bonds are to pay for the city’s 2009 street improvement projects. However, on September 28th councilmembers revisited the issue and ended up voted 3-2 to repeal the earlier decision and accept bids for both tax-exempt and taxable bonds. Voting against this motion were Jim Paulsen and Tim Amundsen. Stated Councilmember Paulsen, “We have infinite examples of the federal government getting involved in something and then changing the rules.” Stated Councilmember Amundsen, “Just saving the people money now is not the sole fiduciary responsibility of the council.” Administrator Don Uram began the discussion September 28th. “I requested a special meeting of the Finance Committee to readdress the issue. The consensus is that the information provided was new. Our recommendation is to open it up to allow either tax exempt or taxables and then make the decision based on bids received.” “As of September there was $32.5 billion of BABS issued which opened up our market to more investors,” he said. “There is a potential for a savings if Council is comfortable with the BABS concept.” Mr. Uram provided information that said, in part, “The creation of the Build America Bonds program has opened vast new markets for local government bonds and helped heal the traditional tax exempt market by reducing the supply of tax free bonds coming to market.” Also, “The IRS has made $76 million in direct payments as of September 14th, 2009.” Paul Donna, the city’s financial consultant, was asked to give his opinion. “It’s an ever changing market,” he said. “The spread between tax exempt and taxables is narrowing, which is the intended effect of Congress. It’s advantageous for you to take advantage of the flexibility in the bid process.” Said Councilmember Amundsen, “I don’t intend to vote for this, especially after hearing the information presented tonight. I have a fundamental disagreement with how this happened.” Replied Councilmember O’Connor, a member of the Finance Committee along with the mayor and city administrator, “There is legitimate new information that runs in the favor of the city. There is opportunity here for relatively significant savings to the city.” It was reported the savings could range from $80,000 to $150,000 over the life of the bonds.
MAYBE 86TH STREET SHOULD BE CLOSED SOME IN VICTORIA PREFER A TRAIL INSTEAD After much discussion on September 28th, councilmembers voted unanimously to table action on the 86th Street Speed Study to November 9th. It is an east-west road that runs parallel to County Road 18 and its westerly approach is below standard. It was previously an unimproved township road. With the motion to table, Mayor Mary Thun stated, “I’d like to get more information and review the information we’ve been given. I had not considered closing the road and making it into a bike path.” Stated Councilmember Kim Roden regarding neighborhood concerns about speed and safety, “I’d like to know if there’s another buffer for the neighborhood. I’d like to understand what would happen legally if we closed the road. I’d like to see a list of options and to know which options are more desirable to the neighborhood.” Since 86th Street is the boundary line between the cities of Victoria and Chaska, Councilmember Jim Paulsen stated, “I think we ought to drive over to Chaska and talk to our neighbors. Maybe we can make lemonade.” Before councilmembers listened to concerns of the Allegheny neighborhood, whose backyards butt up to 86th Street, they discussed the information from the Speed Study. Administrator Don Uram reviewed and reported the issue. “Earlier this year we received calls on speeding. Preliminary results of the study showed there was a speeding issue. Average speed was 37 mph. The 85th percentile was at 43 mph. The posted speed is 30 mph.” He said he instructed city staff to look at correctional alternatives. Said Cara Geheren, city engineer with TKDA, “The information was turned over to the traffic engineer at TKDA who provided some pretty thorough options. The road is a minor collector, a through-road without direct access from residents.” She continued, “There’s never a simple solution so we’ve recommended a two-phase approach. In the short term, increased enforcement reduces speed by 5 mph. The second component would be display signs that tell you how fast you’re driving.”
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