MONTICELLO – As Sullivan County prepares to go out to bond for its
new county jail, Standard and Poors has affirmed its AA rating and a stable
outlook.
That bodes well for the cost of borrowing the estimated $75 million to
$85 million that County Treasurer Nancy Buck anticipates will be needed.
The county authorized up to $95 million for the jail, but the first half
of the construction estimates came in lower than expected.
And Buck believes borrowing rates are low and county rise in the short-term,
so this is the right time to bond and as the Montreign, Adelaar and other
projects come to fruition, Buck expects this borrowing should not impact
the taxpayers too dramatically.
“We should have increased revenues coming in, in a couple of years
and it should offset the payments we make and it shouldn’t be a
big hit to the taxpayers,” she said.
As the new revenues increase in future years, Buck anticipates the county’s
S&P rating could improve even more.
