TO: Athol Board of Selectmen FR: Shaun A. Suhoski, Town Manager RE: Town Manager Report DT: December 15, 2015 Dear Board: Please see the following update for your meeting tonight. School and DIF Bonding: Attached please find estimated 20- and 25-year amortization schedules for the $7.0 million elementary school debt-excluded bond and a 20-year schedule for the $1.9 million (after $1M MassWorks grant) DIF financed water line and booster station expansion projects. These will be bid to retire temporary notes in March 2016. Based upon all available information, it appears that a standard 20-year term for both the school building project, and water infrastructure project, will be the most manageable in terms of tax rate impact (estimated increase of $1.30 per thousand), annual debt service payments and a savings of $929,600 in estimated additional interest costs over a 25-year term for the school. 

Not sure if this was looked at in Templeton, but apparently it was in Athol and that is the projected savings, so it appears that a 28 year bond for Templeton new school will cost the taxpayers an extra million or so dollars.

According to records for Athol, back in 2013, they planned to apply for a loan at 4.50% interest for a principal amount of $16,279,743.00 (total project estimate of $43,931,363.00, with a reimbursement rate of 62.94% from MSBA.) Annual payments total $1,085,857.19 with a total pay back amount of $27,146,429.68.

Athol tax rate back in 2013 was $15.48 and for 2016 it is $19.83 so you can now look at two close towns who both have school bonds coming due and you can see the rise in the tax rate which is more than the per thousand rate each town projected to cover the debt exclusion.

Jeff Bennett