Debt Policy

The County will use appropriate debt instruments to provide funding for capital assets and improvements at the lowest cost with minimal risk:

General Obligation Bonds:
General Obligation Bonds are bonds secured by a promise to levy taxes in an amount necessary to pay debt service, principal and interest, coming due each fiscal year until repaid. General obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the County. These bonds are authorized by a referendum or by non-voted (2/3) authorization by the governing body. The non-voted authorization allows governments to issue up to two-thirds of the previous year’s net debt reduction without a referendum.

Revenue and Special Obligation Bonds:
Revenue bonds are bonds that pledge revenues generated by the debt-financed asset or by the operating system of which that asset is a part. Special Obligation Bonds are bonds that are payable from the pledge of revenues other than locally levied taxes.

Other Financing Options:
Installment financings are alternative financing methods that do not require a referendum. Certificates of Participation or Limited Obligation Bonds represent an undivided interest in the payments made by a public agency pursuant to a financing lease or an installment purchase agreement. The security for this financing is represented by a lien on the property acquired or constructed.

An Installment Purchase Contract is an agreement with a financial institution in which the equipment or

property is acquired and periodic payments are made to satisfy the debt service. The County will typically use this type of financing to finance a capital asset for ten to fifteen years with the capital asset being used as collateral for the loan. In other cases, this financing will be used for short-term equipment/vehicle purchases of three to five years.

The County will use pay-as-you-go funding for capital improvements or capital assets having a cost of less than $250,000 or assets having a useful life of less than ten years unless budgetary constraints require the use of financing to acquire the necessary funding for those capital improvements or capital assets.

The County may issue debt for the purpose of acquiring or constructing capital assets including land, buildings, machinery, equipment, fixtures and any other eligible expenses of a project and for making major renovations to existing capital improvements that are for the good of the public. Exceptions to this rule will be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine if the contemplated debt is in the best interest of the County. Long-term debt shall not be used for financing ongoing operational expenses. When applicable, debt issuance will be pooled together to minimize issuance expense.

Before issuing any new debt the County will consider the following factors:

• Global, national and local financial environment and economy
• Current interest rates and expected interest rate changes
• Cash position and current debt position
• Urgency of current capital needs and flexibility to meet future needs
• Appropriate debt issuance practices and debt structuring

The debt structure is made up of the type of debt, interest rate and principal maturity schedule. This could include General Obligation Bonds, Revenue or Special Obligation Bonds or other installment financings. The cost of taxable debt is typically higher than the cost of tax-exempt debt; however, the issuance of taxable debt is mandated in some circumstances and may allow flexibility in subsequent contracts with users or managers of the improvements constructed with bond proceeds. The County will usually issue obligations on a tax-exempt basis, but may occasionally issue taxable obligations when there is an expected benefit from doing so. The County shall establish an affordable debt level to preserve credit quality and insure sufficient revenue is available to pay annual debt service obligations.

General Obligation Bonds will generally be competitively bid with no more than a 20-year life unless there are compelling factors which make it necessary to extend beyond and applicable law allows a longer term. In a competitive sale, the County may sell its debt obligations by allowing an interested underwriter or syndicate to submit a proposal to purchase and issue bonds. The bonds are awarded to the underwriter presenting the best bid according to stipulated criteria set forth in the notice to sale.

Negotiated sales or private placements may be used where allowed when complex financing or sales structure is a concern with regard to marketability. In a negotiated sale, the bonds may be sold through an exclusive arrangement between the County and an underwriter or underwriting syndicate. At the end of successful negotiations, the issue is awarded to the underwriter. This method offers the most flexibility to the County. The criteria used to select an underwriter or syndicate in negotiated sales should include, but not be limited to the following: overall experience, marketing philosophy, capability, recent experience, underwriter’s discount and overall expenses.

The County may elect to sell its debt obligations through a private placement with a financial institution when appropriate. Selection through private placement shall be determined through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

Debt service for each issue will be structured in an attempt to minimize the County’s interest payments over the life of the issue while taking into account the existing debt obligations of the County. Any debt issued shall not have a maturity date beyond the useful life of the asset being acquired or constructed by the debt proceeds.

The County may also consider various financing methods including fixed or variable interest rate debt in order to minimize the interest costs over the life of the issue. The use of these methods will be evaluated based on market conditions and the maximum benefit to the County while minimizing the County’s risk. When appropriate, the County may choose to issue securities that pay a rate of interest that varies according to a predetermined formula or results from a periodic remarketing of the securities or reset date determined by the bondholder. The County will limit the issuance of variable rate debt to help maintain the County’s credit rating. The County’s long term variable rate debt will not exceed 10% of the total outstanding general debt.

Investment of bond proceeds will be consistent with those authorized by existing state law, the County’s investment policy and applicable bond covenants. Bond proceeds shall be invested and tracked separately from other investments.

The County will use an objective, analytical approach to determine the amount of debt to be considered for authorization and issuance. This process involves the comparison of generally accepted debt ratios from similar counties to the current County ratios. These ratios will be re-evaluated every five (5) years or sooner as market conditions dictate. The County shall adhere to the following ratios:

Net Direct Debt Per Capita:
This ratio measures the burden of direct debt placed on the population supporting the debt. This is widely used by rating agencies as a measure of an issuer’s ability to repay the debt. The County’s General Obligation debt per capita will be in line with other North Carolina counties that maintain the same credit rating. The County will maintain per capita debt that does not exceed $2,000.

Net Direct Debt as a Percentage of Assessed Valuation:
This ratio measures debt levels against the property tax base that generates the tax revenues used as the main source of debt repayment. The County will maintain its debt at no more than 1.50% of the countywide assessed value.

Net Direct Debt Service as a Percentage of Operational Budget:
This ratio reflects the County’s budgetary flexibility to adjust spending levels as economic conditions change. The County will maintain its net debt service at no more than 20% of the operational budget.

Ten-Year Payout Ratio:
This ratio measures how quickly the County retires its outstanding indebtedness. A higher payout ratio preserves the County’s capacity to borrow for future capital needs. The County will maintain its ten-year payout at a 65% level or higher.

The County will continually review its outstanding debt and recommend issue for refunding as market opportunities arise. Debt shall only be refinanced for the purpose of achieving debt service savings, unless required to achieve specific debt management goals of the County. The estimation of net present value savings should be, at a minimum, in the range of 3% of the refunded maturities before a refunding process would be considered unless the County otherwise determines the annual savings warrant the refunding. The County will not refinance debt for the purpose of deferring scheduled debt service, unless unique circumstances are present. The County is aware that refinancing for the purpose of deferring debt service may have an impact on its credit rating.

The County may issue advance refunding bonds when advantageous, legally permissible and prudent while net present value savings are achieved. Advance refunding transactions are those undertaken in advance of the first date the refunded debt can be called for optional redemption and will require an establishment of an escrow account for the defeasance of the refunded debt. All costs incurred in completing the refunding shall be taken into account when determining the net present value savings.

The County may issue current refunding bonds when advantageous, legally permissible and prudent while net present value savings are achieved. Current refunding transactions shall be considered whenever possible. These transactions are undertaken at or after the call date on outstanding debt and provide for redemption and replacement of refunded debt within ninety days of issuance of the refunding debt.

The County shall use pay-as-you-go and other alternative sources of funding for capital projects to minimize debt levels. To have an effective pay-as-you-go program, at least one funding source must be identified that is consistent, reliable and large enough to provide for capital needs in an amount that reduces dependency on debt. In order to reduce the impact of capital programs on future years, the County will annually appropriate funds for its capital improvement plan. The County will also appropriate proceeds from the sale of capital assets and land, as deemed appropriate, for capital projects. This practice will allow additional funding of capital improvement projects and reduce the County’s dependence on borrowing. Pay-as-you-go funding will save money by eliminating interest expense on funded projects and will improve financial flexibility in the event of sudden revenue shortfalls or emergency spending.

The scheduling and amount of bond sales and installment purchase transactions will be recommended by the Finance Director and County Manager. The Board of County Commissioners must approve the sale. These decisions will be based upon the identified cash flow requirements for each project to be financed as well as market conditions and other relevant factors including debt ratios. If the cash requirements for capital projects are minimal in any given year, the County may choose not to issue the debt and fund the project costs and reimburse these costs when financing is arranged. In these situations, the County will adopt a reimbursement resolution prior to the expenditure of project funds.

Fixed rate General Obligation Bond sales are conducted on a competitive basis by the Local Government Commission (LGC), a division of the Office of State Treasurer. Variable rate bonds, revenue and special obligation bonds will be sold on a negotiated basis with a selected underwriter.

The County must receive an opinion acceptable to the market from a nationally recognized law firm that each financing transaction complies with applicable laws and all agreements in connection with any financing are legal, valid and binding obligations of the County.

In accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rule 15c-2-12, the County will provide financial and operating information to the repository or repositories designated by the SEC. Where applicable, the County will also provide its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and other relevant information to rating agencies, corporate trustees and financial institutions as required by continuing disclosure requirements within all debt financing documents.

The County will maintain a system of record keeping and reporting to meet the arbitrage and rebate compliance requirements of the federal tax code. This effort includes tracking investment earnings on bond proceeds, calculating rebate payments in compliance with tax law and remitting applicable earnings to the federal government in a timely manner in order to preserve the tax-exempt status of the County’s outstanding debt issues.

It is the County’s policy to minimize the cost of arbitrage rebate and yield restriction while strictly complying with the applicable laws. Because of the complexity of arbitrage rebate regulations and the severity of non-compliance penalties, arbitrage calculation will be performed by qualified arbitrage professionals in strict adherence to applicable laws and regulations. These calculations will be done in accordance with required Internal Revenue Service reporting dates.

The County will provide for a solicitation and selection process for securing all professional services required in connection with any debt issues. The service professionals selected will be required to follow the County’s debt management policy with the goal of continuity, quality service and competitive prices.

The County Manager and Finance Director are responsible for the administration and issuance of debt including the completion of specific tasks and responsibilities included in this policy.