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Atlantic City Council to approve bond purchase agreement & consider TIF application

News

March 19th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic City Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday evening in the Senior Center cafeteria room, while renovation work continues on the City Hall building. During their session, the Council may act on a Resolution approving a Bond Purchase Agreement not to exceed $2.72-million, for the City’s 2013 Capital Improvement Plan. Approving the agreement would lock-in the interest rates, and is the next step in the process to pay for the construction of improvements to the City’s streets and storm sewers.

In other business, the Council in Atlantic will act on a Resolution setting April 3rd, 2013 at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on a Loan Agreement not to exceed $6.6-million, for Sewer Revenue bonds. During the last Council meeting, City Administrator Doug Harris said it would be advantageous for the City to issue the bonds at current interest rates, rather than draw-down on the remaining $6.6-million from the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRL) to finance the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Harris said it would save the City an average of $23,500 per year for the first 17-years of the bond maturity structure, for an over-all savings of about $391,000.

And, the Council will discuss and consider a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) application from Sonntag Development, for a $250,000 grant from the City, for the construction of 10 duplexes. The matter had been referred to the Community Development Committee, which said the proposed Southern Heights II Subdivision was a good project and public assistance could be considered, since it met the minimum standards under the new, broader TIF Policy. However, the Atlantic CDC did not offer a conclusive opinion on whether public funding should be granted. The Committee decided to forward the application back to the Council for its consideration, without  a specific recommendation for action.

Whatever action the Council takes, if any, on Wednesday, will set a precedence for the standards and purpose for the use of public funding when similar TIF requests are made, along with how much public assistance will be the standard.