Looking to borrow money at a better interest rate, a nonprofit retirement community has asked Rockland for a municipal revenue bond to build a $7 million, 24-unit extension.
According to the Bangor Daily News, city attorney Kevin Beal has asked for legal advice about who can say yes or no to the Bartlett Woods Retirement Community, which has yet to submit a formal application.
Maine state statute says the City Council can approve or reject the request, but Rockland’s own charter says any bond for more than $1 million requires voter approval, the newspaper reported.
Municipal revenue bonds are supported directly by revenues from the projects they are used to finance. In this case, the bond likely would be paid back with the rental income from the 24 units, according to the Daily News.
“The only real impact to the city is that it does apply to the city’s $10 million cap on a form of debt,” Beal said. “If we used $7 million, we’d only have $3 million left to bond for real city projects.”
