The Blairstown Township Committee sold a $6,294,000 municipal bond to Roosevelt and Cross, a New York broker-dealer that specializes in tax-exempt and taxable municipal debt, in a deal that will close on March 17.
The township organized an interest rate of 2.115529 percent with a $188,820 premium for this general obligation bond, designated for improvements, water utility and open-space refunding. Blairstown Township received four bids with Roosevelt and Cross offering the lowest rates.
These interest rates will not fluctuate until the general bond matures in 2032. Water utility bonds mature in 2036, refinance bonds mature in 2028 and refunding open-space bonds will mature within the following year.
The Blairstown Township Committee announced that municipal taxes will be raised this year. Deputy Mayor Walter Orcutt stated that Blairstown is “near guaranteed a flat rate for the next five years.”
According to Mayor Robert Moorehead, selling this large municipal bond along with raising the Blairstown municipal tax, “will get rid of all this debt we’ve been dragging behind us and accumulating over the years.”
This extra income brings the Blairstown capital fund balance up and allows the township to fully fund a capital project without the need for a loan.
Alex Tironi, Contributing Writer
A recent graduate of George Mason University in Virginia, Alex pursued a degree in journalism with a double minor in American Sign Language and nonprofit studies. She worked as assistant news editor to the Fourth Estate, the university newspaper where she reported on many things but mostly focused on campus crime and PD activity. While working for a nonprofit called the Borgen Project, she wrote about global health and poverty in third-world nations. Alex recently finished an internship writing and editing for a business consulting company in NY. Growing up in the area, she has always been active in her community and brings the same intention as a contributing writer for the Ridge View Echo.
