Fayette looks to refinance bond
The Fayette County commissioners have directed solicitor Joseph E. Ferens Jr. to investigate the possibility of refinancing a bond that has an increasing interest rate. During Thursday’s meeting, the commissioners unanimously approved a motion to authorize Ferens to determine if refinancing on money obtained via the Washington County bond pool is possible as well as seek advice on the option of changing the interest rate to fixed from variable.
Fayette County opted to tap into the bond pool in 2000 to the tune of $9 million. Since that time, the Fayette County Mental Health/Mental Retardation agency received $2.8 million from that amount to use toward construction of a new building. Earlier this year Bob Calisti of MH/MR pointed out that the monthly payment has increased as the variable interest rate has climbed from 2 percent to more than 5 percent.
Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink initiated the action, saying if the bond can be refinanced it would save the county money.
The motion authorizes Ferens to contact the bond issue administrator and trustee to determine if the bond can be refinanced, as well as directs Ferens to prepare either a request for proposals or a request for quotes for a financial advisor to review the loan agreement and advise the county of the advisability of shifting from a variable to fixed rate or refinancing, as opposed to taking no action.
Regarding another matter relating to Ferens, Zimmerlink and Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites rejected a Ferens recommendation to seek information about joining in the defense of litigation filed against the Department of State relating to a lack of a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail for the county’s new electronic voting machines.
Ferens explained the lawsuit was filed by a group of concerned citizens saying voter machines in the majority of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties don’t have a VVPAT. He said when the county bought the machines earlier this year as a result of a federal mandate to do so there was no requirement for a VVPAT.
Ferens said if the lawsuit is successful the courts could mandate that counties either get new machines or add a VVPAT component to existing machines.
He said the County Commissioner Association of Pennsylvania is asking all counties to join in opposition to the lawsuit, seeking to give the county the option to buy new machines, have the current machines altered or do nothing, as opposed to being mandated to do so. Ferens said the cost to join would be about 4 cents per registered voter, or about $3,600 for Fayette County’s 90,000 registered voters.
“There is some sense of urgency to committing to let them know were are interested in it. I recommended it because it puts control back in the county’s hands,” Ferens said. “If we lose, we become mandated and I would rather be the master of my own decisions.” He added that he was not asking the county to commit to join the suit, but to look into it.
Zimmerlink said a VVPAT component could be added to each of the county’s 268 machines for an approximate cost of $200 each. However, no VVPAT components have been certified by the state. She said she would rather table taking any action until she would get feedback from other counties. In response to Zimmerlink, Ferens said, “To sit back and do nothing would be irresponsible.”
Vicites said he always felt a VVPAT should have been mandated from the beginning. “I don’t want to get involved with it. If we say we don’t want to be mandated it sends the wrong message,” Vicites said.
When Zimmerlink asked for a motion to look into joining the lawsuit, Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III made a motion, but it died when neither Vicites nor Zimmerlink provided a second.
The commissioners announced there would be a “hard to recycle” drop off event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Wharton Township Building on Route 381 in Farmington.