Agenda - 10-20-2015 - 6a - Minutes

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2 1 obligation bond referendum on November 8, 2016, and sets out a proposed schedule. Here are 2 the required steps and suggested dates for action: 3 4 1. Determine tentative plan for bond purposes and amounts. Although Step 5 5 provides for the first formal Board action to determine what will be presented to the voters, the 6 bond program needs to be substantially worked out before we begin the formal process. In 7 addition, the plan for what projects are to be included in the bond package is something that 8 LGC representatives will want to discuss in detail with County representatives as part of the 9 meeting described in the next step. 10 11 Each separate general purpose for bonds has to be the subject of a separate ballot 12 question. The statutes assume that each question put to voters will propose a dollar amount for 13 a separate generic purpose, such as paying "capital costs of school facilities."Although the 14 statutes allow the purpose to be stated with more specificity, it is highly recommended that the 15 purpose in the ballot question be left as general as possible. The more specific plans underlying 16 the planning for the bond issue do not legally bind the County to a particular future plan of action 17 in the issuance of the bonds or construction of specified facilities. 18 19 2. Meet with LGC staff.The County should arrange a meeting with LGC staff about 20 the proposed referendum as soon as convenient after the Board has settled informally on a 21 referendum plan. 22 23 3. Give informal notice to the County Board of Elections. Because the Board of 24 Elections will need to coordinate its own procedures for the bond referendum, it would help the 25 Board of Elections to receive a phone call to inform the Board of the County's plans, even if the 26 plans are still subject to change. We want to be sure that our schedule works with the Board's 27 schedule -- not only in terms of legal requirements but also in terms of practical matters such as 28 ballot printing deadlines, especially now that absentee balloting begins in September. 29 30 4. Obtain School Board Resolutions. If any of the bonds will be proposed for 31 school purposes, the statutes contemplate that the affected school boards should provide a 32 formal referendum request to the Commissioners. This request usually proposes a maximum 33 amount of bonds to be considered at the referendum. This schedule assumes that each school 34 board could adopt an appropriate resolution by the end of March. 35 36 5. Adopt "Findings" Resolution. As part of the application process, the LGC 37 wants to see a statement describing why the proposed projects and bonds are necessary and 38 desirable. This resolution will also state an estimated tax rate impact of the borrowing. This 39 resolution could be adopted at a County Board meeting in April. This resolution will also 40 authorize the publication of the "Notice of Intent" described in Step 6. 41 42 6. Publish Notice of Intent To File Application. The County must publish a 43 notice of its intent to file an application for the LGC's approval of the proposed bonds. The 44 notice must be published at least 10 days before filing the application. The notice needs to be 45 published as soon as possible after the Board adopts the findings resolution described in Step 46 5. 47 The own words resolution and the Notice of Intent establish the maximum amount of 48 bonds that can be proposed at the referendum for each of the specified purposes. From this 49 point, we can decrease the amount of bonds or eliminate purposes, but we can increase an 50 amount or add a purpose only by re-starting the authorization process. 51