Special Board of Aldermen 03-21-2022 Page 10
think it’s important to just remember that, you know, we expand our projects to people who have good reputations that
we might not know as well. If we are always tied to the same firm, it has a limitation and | just want you to bear that in
mind. That’s my only comment and other than that, | support what you're doing.
Chairman Dowd
All of the costs for materials and things are all bid out competitively.
Laurie Ortolano
Okay. Thank you.
Chairman Dowd
Anyone else want to speak in favor?
Lou Juris
Lou Juris here from 56 Haines Street. Good evening. | would support this effort to go ahead and bond these funds
and bring the school up to the codes and the construction and the necessary specifications so these younger learners
and also the learners who are going there for their high school program can certainly learn and graduate from high
school and move on and hopefully stay here in the community. So with that, | would urge passing of this motion.
Thank you.
Chairman Dowd
Anyone else who'd like to be heard in favor? Moving on testimony in opposition? No one in the chamber, no one
online. So once again, testimony in favor?
TESTIMONY IN OPPOSITION — None
TESTIMONY IN FAVOR
Laurie Ortolano
Laurie Ortolano, 41 Berkeley Street. Do you have a bond schedule for this or a cost payout for this done up that we
can actually have a copy?
Chairman Dowd
That would fall to the City Treasurer.
John Griffin, CFO/City Treasurer/Tax Collector
Good evening. John Griffin CFO/Treasurer/Tax Collector. As the resolution was put together, we costed out a level
principal payment and on the second page of the Resolution, the 20-year bond payment would be $315,625 annually.
The total $5 million plus the interest is $6,312,500. Just to put this project in perspective, the general fund debt
service adopted by the Board of Alderman in Fiscal 22 is $16.8 million. So $315,000 is less than 2% of that number.
As far as we move into Fiscal 23 budget, I’m in the process of working with my team to create what's called “a bond
sale”, which we notify the Aldermen these are all the projects, some approved, some not approved yet. We put
together the schedules of payments, General Fund, Enterprise Fund, and other funds - Highway in particular with the
paving program. We will have all those schedules and as this becomes a sale and I’m learning as we go as well too,
that we don’t need the $5 million this summer. Following Treasurer Fredette’s footsteps to avoid arbitrage and other
problems, we'll probably sell this in two chunks but it will be part of a comprehensive bond sale plan. We've been very
successful over the last few years taking advantage of the available rates, timing of the projects, and the bonding. So
we will be presenting. | will be presenting more of a comprehensive plan through a memo at the beginning schedules
and then a discussion.
The thing about bonding and we have a fair amount of high school bonds coming off, so paying those down and we
try to manage the increase in any given year to a reasonable level in the general fund. So we replace things as they
