Jul 2, 2019 1 min read

North Strabane supervisors agreed to allow the township’s municipal authority to issue up to $11.5 million in bonds on Tuesday in a bid to save money on its existing debt.

The supervisors voted on June 25 to authorize the North Strabane Township Municipal Authority to incur the lease rental debt in order to refinance some of its existing obligations, and for township manager Andy Walz to execute a guarantee agreement with the authority to secure that debt. Walz said the move would save the authority an estimated $500,000 in payments over the lifespan of the debt.

Supervisors voted 5-0 to pass an ordinance outlining the terms of the bond issue, which the authority has yet to finalize. The bill’s text and accompanying documents show the authority plans to use the proceeds to refund a 2014 bond issue for $8.815 million, which the authority floated to fund sewer extensions and other upgrades to its infrastructure.

That prior debt would be rolled over into the new issue.

Piper Jaffray is the underwriter of both the previous bond issue and the proposed new one. The authority’s bond counsel is Dinsmore & Stohl.