Agenda - 03-11-1998 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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®R~-~T Issuance of Debt 7. The County will strive to issue bonds no more frequently than once in any fiscal year. The scheduling of bond sales and installment purchase decisions and the amount of bonds to be sold and installment financing to be sought will be determined each year by the County Commissioners. These decisions will be based upon the identified cash flow requirements for each project financed, market conditions, and other relevant factors. These factors will be ascertained from the school systems and County departments. If cash needs for bond projects are insignificant in any given year, the Board may choose not to issue bonds. Instead, the Board may fund up front project costs and reimburse these costs when bonds are sold. 8. The County will seek level or declining debt repayment schedules and will avoid issuing debt that provides for balloon principal payments reserved at the end of the term of the issue. 9. The County will avoid over-reliance on variable rate debt due to the potential volatility of such instruments. 10. The County is required by Statute to issue general obligation debt through a competitive process. The competitive process will also be used for other debt issuance unless time factors, interest rates or other factors make it more favorable to the County to use a negotiated process. Level of Debt 11. The County will strive to maintain its net bonded debt at a level not to exceed three percent of the assessed valuation of taxable property within the County. 12. The County will strive to maintain its annual debt service costs at a level no greater than fifteen percent of general fund expenditures. This applies to debt service costs paid by general fund revenues, including installment purchase debt. Undesignated Fund Balance 13. The County will strive to maintain undesignated fund balance in the general fund at a level sufficient to meet its budgeted goals, to be determined annually. The amount of undesignated fund balance maintained during each fiscal year should not be less than eight percent of budgeted general fund operating expenditures that fiscal year. 14. To the extent that undesignated fund balance exceeds the budgeted goals the County could consider drawing upon the balance to fund major equipment purchases or one time expenses on a pay- as-you-go basis. Investment of Capital Funds 15. Investment of capital funds will be performed in accordance with the North Carolina General Statutes (159-30). Funds will be invested in instruments that will provide the liquidity required to meet the cash flow needs of each project funded.