Julie Davis, the county finance director, received permission from the Board of Commissioners this week to hire First Southwest, a Charlotte-based financial advisory firm, to look into it.
Haywood County currently has about $71.1 million in outstanding debt in 14 different past projects, including the justice center, the historic courthouse renovations, the new Department of Social Services building, and numerous schools. Its interest rates range from as low 1.69 percent to as high as five percent.
Refinancing could possibly save the county $35,000 to $45,000 per year in its various loan payments, according to a report by Davis.
“It looks like it’s going to make sense to do a re-funding,” Davis said.
How much the county pays each year varies but currently it shells out about $9.4 million yearly toward its debt.
The contract between the county and First Southwest is contingent on how many of its outstanding bonds and loans it decides to refinance. However, if the county decides not to refinance anything, it could still be assessed a fee, estimated between $15,000 and $20,000 for the financial services.
I had never seen the color green like that before.
Robert Morgan has a rare and cunning gift: he can sift through the detritus of the past, pluck objects and images from his memory (especially his childhood) and elevate them to the point where they become — in the sense that Joseph Campbell uses the word — “numinous.”
