Grant County Commission hears presentations at its work session 031919 and regular meeting 032119, part 4

[Editor's Note: This is the fourth of a multi-part series of articles on the Grant County Commission work session of March 19, 2019 and regular session on March 21, 2019.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

The first items of business on the regular meeting agenda, Thursday, March 21, 2019 included a proclamation and a certificate of gratitude.

2019 Class AAA Cobre wrestlers receive proclamation

The proclamation recognized the Cobre High School Wrestling team for winning the 2019 Class AAA State Championship under Coach Reyne Maynes. The list of coaches and wrestlers and their wins are listed in the proclamation below.

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Commissioner Harry Browne presents certificate of appreciation to PNM linemen.

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At Commissioner Harry Browne's request, a certificate of gratitude was presented to Grant and Luna counties PNM personnel for restoring power quickly during the weather events the week of March 10-16 that caused electric service outages affecting nearly 1,000 homes in Grant County.

He said after reading the overwhelming sentiments of gratitude for the linemen on Facebook, Browne said it inspired him to recognize them with the certificate of appreciation.

Commissioner Javier Salas said: "We know it's your job, and you've done it many times, but you don't get much appreciation. Thank you for what you do.

Next during the regular meeting was a presentation about Amplified Therapy Inc.'s early intervention program, which was reported on in http://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/50164-photo-added-grant-county-commission-hears-presentations-at-its-work-session-031919-and-regular-meeting-032119-part-3

[Editor's Note: Elected official reports and public input will be covered in a later article or articles.]

The following item was the first of two public hearings.

Luis Carrasco of Hilltop Securities, who attended along with Peter Kelton, who Carrasco said was instrumental in helping create the documents and Lalleh Daleny, financial advisor, gave a short summary of each section of the multi-page document.

Section 1 is the ratification of prior actions toward the election and issuance of the bonds. We republished the notice.

Section 2 is necessary to issue the bonds. They are sold through public sale. He said the notice of issuance will be in the Silver City Daily Press as well as posted on ParityPlatform.com.

Section 3 authorizes the County Manager (Charlene Webb) to negotiate and approve documents.

Section 4 lists the redemption provisions. Carrasco said if the county should want to redeem the bonds to get a more favorable rate, this lists how that can be accomplished.

Section 5 state that the County Treasurer (Steve Armendariz) will sign the financial documents.

Section 6, Carrasco said is an important one. "The general obligation bonds are payable from the ad valorem taxes and property taxes. If enough revenue is not available, the bond holders can request an increase in the tax levy or request the county to find other sources of revenue."

Section 7 explains the transfer process.

Section 8 states the County Treasurer is the registrar and paying agent for the bonds.

Section 9 states the conditions of the bond are fully negotiable.

Section 10 shows what the bonds look like.

Section 11 explains the delivery of the funding, how the proceeds will be applied, exactly as stated on the ballot for allowable capital purposes.

Section 12 talks about the tax levy and the sinking fund, which is like an escrow account maintained to retire the bond issued by the county.

Section 13 lists the delegation of powers within the parameters of the ordinance and provides the county manager to delegate. The bonds cannot exceed $8 million and will be retired no later than 2033. The percentage rate for the bonds cannot exceed 5 percent and the bonds are to be sold in a public sale in the form set forth in Section 10. The bonds are fully registered on the date of sale. This section allows the manager to set the redemption of the bonds on or after 2030. They can be called on Dec. 31, 2029.

Section 14 sets forth the fees that can be paid with excess funds. The fees will not come out of the bonds but are set aside by the county for expenses of issuance.

Section 15 is similar to the preceding section, Carrasco said.

Section 16 is the tax and covenants section. The county is warranting not to violate IRS rules and that it cannot earn more interest on the bonds unless they pay the IRS for the extra. It lists that the county cannot restrict the yield on the investment, that it is exempt from taxation unless otherwise stated, and if it does earn more interest it is set aside in a rebate fund, which goes to the IRS within five years.

Section 17 lists protective covenants with required time limits for spending down the bonds and that they will be paid back on time. Also, the county will remain the entity managing the bonds and will allow audits and will furnish them to owners of the bonds, upon request. They may not be repealed or modified for the life of the bond.

Section 18 lists the events of default.

Section 19 lists the remedies upon default.

Section 20 states the duties upon default.

Section 21 establishes what happens if the bonds are not presented when due.

Section 22 lists how the bond ordinance may be amended.

Section 23 is how the bonds will be paid off.

Section 24 is the continuing disclosure, including annual audits, which, Carrasco said is now a new SEC rule.

Section 25 states the ordinance is irrepealable until the bonds are repaid.

Section 26 said if any section, paragraph, clause or provision of the ordinance are held invalid, it shall not affect any of the remaining provisions of the ordinance.

Section 27 gave the full form of the notice to be published after approval of the ordinance.

Section 28 gives the process of making changes or alterations, such as typos.

Section 29 gives the forms of the preliminary official statement and the official statement by the purchaser.

Section 30 states the county may not issue the bond after the expiration of 120 days following approval of the ordinance.

Section 31 is the final terms certification.

Section 31 lists the conditions for issuance of the bonds. Carrasco said the county has to sign the tax certification.

Section 32 was conditioned on the county's delivery of the tax compliance certification and other required certificates and documents.

Section 33 states that no member of the Commission or employee of the county has any interest in the transaction contemplated in the ordinance or any connection with the bonds or documents concerning the bonds.

Section 34 addresses the reimbursement of prior expenditures from county funding not to exceed $100,000.

Section 35 is the repealer clause to address the repealing of any ordinance or resolution inconsistent with this ordinance.

Section 36 states the ordinance, once adopted, shall be part of the book of ordinances of the county. And shall be in full force and effect 30 days thereafter.

The preliminary official statement had a few changes of dates.

Daleny said a contingency is built into the numbers. She said she would post the POS that day, March 21, 2019, and the bonds will be sold on April 4. "The county manager can accept or reject the terms of sale. We received a Moody's rating of A2 for the county. You have a number of positives, including the stability of your tax base and what is especially excellent is your surplus that you have saved up. None of the negatives are within the county's control, such as the pension liabilities of the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico, which is basically insolvent. You are not the only state affected that way. Another negative is your reliance on copper production. Because of recent actions of the Federal Reserve, we are anticipating no rate hikes. And because of reduction in tightening, it bodes well for this bond sale."

Carrasco explained that although the sale is on April 4, the bonds will not close until April 30. He said he would return to the April meeting with the sale documents to be signed by the manager, treasurer and commission chairman.

Al Gamboa, resident, said, in public input at the hearing, he hoped the county would keep the Mining District and Fort Bayard in mind when using the funding.

The ordinance was approved.

Next was a public hearing on an opioid ordinance. County Attorney Abigail Burgess said the ordinance asks for cost recovery and lists opioid use as a public nuisance. "We made no changes from what you last saw."

The opioid ordinance was approved without comment.

The next article will continue with elected officials' reports and some public input.