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16 <br />1 Commissioner Gordon said she filled out the Board of County Commissioners matrix in <br />2 response to a request from the group. She read some specific questions and statements, and <br />3 she asked if high level input is desired. <br />4 Chair Jacobs said they had a retreat two years ago that was dedicated to <br />5 communication. He suggested this might be interesting information to look back at, and it <br />6 expresses the will of the Board. <br />7 Commissioner Gordon said the group will review the background information and the <br />8 interviews Rod Visser did with the Commissioners. <br />9 <br />10 5. Potential Bond Issuance and Debt Capacity <br />11 Clarence Grier reviewed some of the following background information from the <br />12 abstract: <br />13 <br />14 Over the past fiscal year, the Board of County Commissioners has discussed the need for a <br />15 future bond referendum to fund some County and school long -range capital needs. As recently <br />16 discussed by the Board of County Commissioners and both school districts (Chapel Hill — <br />17 Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools), part of the incentive for going forward with <br />18 a potential general obligation bond referendum is the repair, renovation, and upgrading of <br />19 existing and older school facilities. <br />20 <br />21 The County maintains excellent bond ratings. <br />22 S &P - AAA <br />23 Fitch - AAA <br />24 Moody's — AAA <br />25 <br />26 The issuance of debt for two of the County's largest projects most recently discussed — New <br />27 County Jail Facility and Middle School #5 for the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School District — <br />28 total a combined $73.2 million dollars, and both projects are included in the current County <br />29 Capital Investment Plan for the fiscal years 2015 - 2020. It is not anticipated that the new jail <br />30 project will be included in a potential general obligation bond referendum, but would be financed <br />31 with alternative financing. Orange County Schools has indicated the need for a new Elementary <br />32 #8. That project is not scheduled until FY 2021 -2022, but could be a potential project for <br />33 inclusion in a potential bond referendum. <br />34 Additionally, as previously mentioned, both school districts have older facility needs totaling <br />35 approximately $330 million that could potentially be addressed in part with a general obligation <br />36 bond referendum. <br />37 Additionally, in order to afford additional debt, the County would potentially have to increase the <br />38 property tax rate 2.82 cents for the new debt service. This projected tax increase would not <br />39 include 1) any future other operating expenditure increases or 2) any future operating <br />40 expenditure increases related directly to the new facilities and schools being built. <br />41 Based on current projects included in the County's Capital Investment Plan and future debt <br />42 service, the County could afford additional debt of the following after FY2018 — 19: <br />43 <br />44 <br />Fiscal Year Capacity <br />45 <br />2016 <br />$34,762,073 <br />46 <br />2017 <br />21,359,811 <br />47 <br />2018 <br />29,089,027 <br />48 <br />2019 <br />11,405,556 <br />49 <br />2020 <br />17,808,611 <br />50 <br />Total <br />$114,425,078 <br />