Perfect Credit Rating, Bond Refinancing Saves Taxpayers $6.35 Million
NOVATO, Calif. (PRWEB) November 21, 2017 -- Marin Community College District recently locked in savings of approximately $6.35 million for local taxpayers by refinancing Measure C bonds previously approved by voters in 2004.
Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees, the District administration took advantage of historically low interest rates to refinance bonds from its Measure C authorization without extending the term of those bonds. The District was able to reduce interest rates on the prior bonds from an average of 4.69 percent to 2.97 percent. This action effectively reduces the community’s tax bill by a total of $6,350,020 over the life of the bond refinancing.
Prior to the bond sale, the District received rating upgrades from both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s. Moody’s raised the District’s rating from Aa1 to Aaa and the rating from Standard & Poor’s increased from AA+ to AAA. With the rating upgrades, the College now enjoys the distinction of holding the highest rating given by each agency.
Both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s noted the District’s strong local economy, tax base, and wealth levels but attributed the rating increases mainly to the District’s strong financial performance and reserve policy.
The District has now joined an elite group of only four other community college districts in California to be assigned Aaa/AAA ratings.
The Aaa/AAA credit ratings distinguished the District’s bond offering from other municipal bonds in the marketplace, which resulted in strong investor demand. During the first 11 minutes of the order period, all $49 million of the bonds had been sold.
At the end of the order period, the District received a total of $176.3 million in orders from a broad investor base which included property and casualty companies, professional retail/money managers, and bank trust departments. While the District doesn’t have a way to identify the specific local companies that bought the bonds, investors included many local and regional companies with clients in Marin County.
Since 2012, the District has refinanced its outstanding Measure C bonds on four occasions. Including the most recent refinancing, the District has saved taxpayers a total of $22.3 million.
“Our community has supported us time and again. We owe it to our taxpayers to lower the burden whenever possible,” said Superintendent/President David Wain Coon. “When market conditions allowed us to significantly lower the interest rate, our Board did not hesitate to pursue the opportunity.”
About College of Marin
Established in 1926, College of Marin remains committed to educational excellence, providing equitable opportunities, and fostering success in all members of its diverse community. With campuses in Kentfield and Novato, students of all ages have affordable access to an exciting variety of credit and noncredit courses as well as community education classes for lifelong learning. College of Marin is one of 114 public community colleges in California and approximately 13,000 credit, noncredit, and community education students enroll annually.
College of Marin is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 10 Commercial Boulevard, Suite 204, Novato, CA 94949, (415) 506-0234, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.
Nicole Cruz, College of Marin, http://www.marin.edu, +1 415-485-9508, [email protected]
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