The Huntsville, Ala., city council on Wednesday approved selling municipal bonds to finance $69 million in projects and infrastructure associated with the Toyota-Mazda plants to be built in Limestone County.
Altogether, the council gave the go-ahead to sell up to $131 million in bonds to fund other projects as well:
- $10 million for parks, greenways and recreation
- $7 million for Von Braun Center
- $22.5 million for road improvements
- $13.5 million for libraries, community centers and public safety
- $8 million for parking garages.
The council approved the ordinance in a 3-0 vote at a special meeting Wednesday. Councilmen Will Culver and Devyn Keith did not attend the meeting.
The $69 million for the Toyota-Mazda project covers land acquired by the city, a Norfolk Southern railway spur to the plant site and the accelerated timeline to connect Greenbrier Parkway to I-65 at the Tanner interchange.
The items are included as part of $320 million in incentives for Toyota-Mazda the city of Huntsville had previously approved. The Toyota-Mazda project is a $1.6 billion investment by the two Japanese automakers expected to create 4,000 direct jobs and about 10,000 new jobs altogether.
City Administrator John Hamilton described it at the special meeting as a "transformational project that does a lot to continue to ensure the long-term viability of the city. Ultimately, putting $70 million into an industrial project is clearly a big number. It's clearly a big commitment on the part of the taxpayers.
"But ultimately, it's done in a way where you're paying for it in taxes that you would not have ordinarily have received."
City finance director Peggy Sargent told the council that the city's triple-A bond rating from both Moody's Investor Services and Standard & Poor's — the highest rating available — assures that the city can sell its debt at the lowest interest rate.
Selling the bonds will not affect the city's credit rating, Sargent said.
Repayment of the $131 million will be covered by about $71 million raised from a special tax district established for the Toyota plant while the balance will be paid by property and sales taxes, Sargent said.
