New facilities and equipment for the City of Cedartown is going to be expensive, and the money that is needed now for things like a new pumper truck for the fire department or Lankford Corner can’t wait forever.

So the city is looking at whether taking out bonds via the newly formed Public Facilities Authority is an option. One that City Manager Edward Guzman is giving serious consideration after Reviews for Proposals were opened on Wednesday.

Bond rates for the city to borrow around $5 million to pay for several wish list items now and not have to wait for Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax revenues to build up to pay for them. Items like the $1.2 million cost for a new sewer truck, or the still to be determined price tag for the bids for the Lankford Corner building being proposed by the city on South Main Street. That cost will be determined next month when bids come in to be opened on the project. City officials and Commissioners discussed the potential for bond sales during their November 6 Work Session.

Guzman said the proposals brought in an interest rate of 4.22%, much lower than expected in a market that has been driven in the past years by increasing inflation and borrowing costs.

He added that the city had considered the option if SPLOST wasn’t available through 2032 to seek private firms, but interest rates would have been much higher and ultimately cost thousands of more to taxpayers in the long run in additional fees.

Bond sales have been done in the past in Polk, most recently with the Polk School District who issued bonds to borrow for construction and other ESPLOST projects. The revenues generated from SPLOST pay the cost of principal and interest over time. The same basic payment structure would apply for Cedartown’s bond payments if the city moves forward with the plan: borrow now on the projected SPLOST collections, and pay back over the next 10 years if the plan is approved and sales are completed.

The only risk to the city is if the SPLOST collections fail to come in at the projected pace, or if future extensions aren’t approved by local voters. In that particular case, the city would have to tap into reserve funds or find offsetting cuts in the general fund to pay back the bonds.

Guzman’s hope is that the city can not only pay back the bonds, but cover the costs ahead of schedule and get them off the books as soon as possible.

But for now, the potential bond sale would give the city immediate revenue it needs for major purchases and projects (that will also comply with forthcoming mandates about diesel engine sales that would cost hundreds of thousands more for larger vehicles like a new pumper truck for the fire department and the sewer truck.

It also allows the city to complete other areas that are in the midst of transformation, like the upcoming phases of development at the Goodyear Soccer Complex on West Avenue.

This at the moment is all hypothetical, at least until the City Commission gives its approval to allow for sales to go through.

They already took the first step by establishing the Public Facilities Authority to facilitate the bonds, now they’ll have to give approval for bond sales to move forward in the November regular session upcoming on Monday, Nov. 13. Prior to the regular session, the Public Facilities Authority will be gathering for a 5 p.m. meeting on the same subject.

If that goes through, the city will then have to get with brokers and attorneys to put together the sale and then wait with fingers crossed that the market buys up the bonds in full.