Board of commissioners Monday night agreed to enter into an agreement with First Tryon Advisors of Charlotte in which the firm would help the county refinance the debt as well as help in other financial advisement capacities.
The county will pay the firm $22,500 for its services and expects to save $1,245,000 from the refinancing of the two projects, Finance Director Mary Duncan told the board at the meeting.
Refinancing is expected to lower the projected interest rate to 2.15 percent for the $12.1 million loan, Duncan said this morning.
The interest rate for the school loan was 4.37 percent while the interest for the DSS project was 4.45 percent, she said.
Both projects have 10 years remaining. The county currently owes $8.5 million on the school project and $3.8 million on the DSS project.
“It definitely will save us some money,” County Manager Tony Brown said this morning. “It saves us 4 cents on the tax rate.”
Brown said consideration of going with First Tryon came from “looking for ways to be efficient.”
County Attorney Glynn Rollins said during the meeting going with the firm will have other advantages not only in refinancing, but with helping the county improve its bond rating and in capital planning. “I called a couple of county attorneys in Duplin and Pitt and they immediately said by all means they were the best to work with. They got very high marks.”
Board Chair Vernon Bryant told the board, “Time is of the essence with this. We need to think about the interest rates after the November election.”
Bryant said following the meeting, “I do think it’s good over a 10-year period. I think it’s a great thing.”