1 week Ago By Hailey Armstrong
In what can only be described as a fiscal triumph amidst chaotic bond markets, the City of Englewood has locked in a 4.13% interest rate on its recent General Obligation Bond, a full 1.87 percentage points below what had been anticipated.
This savvy move is expected to save taxpayers a hefty bundle over the bond's twenty-year term, according to numbers crunched by city officials.The triumph is striking when put up against an initial 6% estimate, which, had it held, would have carved significantly thicker slices from taxpayer wallets throughout the bond's life. Instead, the fruits of the city's labor and its sterling financial health have borne a discount.
As detailed by the City of Englewood, projecting out across two decades, Englewood taxpayers are looking at savings to the tune of $10.4 million compared to the originally projected maximum repayment cost of up to $72 million as outlined in the ballot issue 2C.Bringing the voice of the city leadership to the residents, Mayor Othoniel Sierra noted, "Over the past five years, we’ve been steadily strengthening the city’s financial foundation.
" Mayor Sierra credited the strategic partnerships and investments in Englewood’s infrastructure for this favorable outcome. "We’re committed to delivering high-quality parks and recreation facilities while continuing to invest in the infrastructure and economic development that move our city forward," he said, as per the City of Englewood.The practicalities break down sweetly for both residential and commercial property owners.
Figures lobbed out before the lower rate had estimated the annual bond cost at about $27.70 per $100,000 of home value, translating to about $138.50 a year for a half-million-dollar home.
On the business side, for property valued similarly, the tab was tabulated at $475 annually. After the rate wrangling, residential payments are poised to drop to roughly $99.00 for a property of the same value, whereas commercial properties can anticipate annual costs at approximately $412.
22. That's savings with a cherry on top, no overstatement.The bond in question, a $41.
5 million agreement voted in by taxpayers in November 2024, is earmarked for a sizable makeover across Englewood's parks and recreational hotspots. Construction crews are slated to hit the ground running come spring 2025, with the ribbon-cutting on most projects planned before 2028 wraps. Residents can thus watch their pennies pinched today transmute into tangible improvements where they live and play, a fiscal metamorphosis if there ever was one, all without breaking the local bank.
.
