Washoe County will competitively sell $60 million in general obligation bonds at the end of November to finance a flood control project at Truckee River.
Debt service for the bonds will come from a 1/8% sales tax without a sunset, according to John Sherman, chief financial officer and finance director of Washoe County, which includes Reno.
And on Sept. 26 the county will competitively sell $25 million in general obligation bonds to finance the purchase of Ballardini Ranch and turn it into a public park by the end of next summer.
"The county had filed a condemnation of the ranch, and we settled that case with the property owners out of court, so now we're issuing the debt to buy the land," Sherman said.
He said that the general obligation bonds have revenues pledged from taxes on motor vehicles, real property transfers, cigarettes, liquor, and retail sales.
The largest of the revenue streams pledged is the 2.25% sales tax, which has no sunset, according to Sherman.
Most of the $25 million will purchase the land from the Ballardini family trust, but about $400,000 will pay for the transformation of the land into a public park.
Hobbs, Ong & Associates Inc. and Public Financial Management are financial advisers and Swenseid & Stern is bond counsel for the upcoming transactions.
As of June 30, Washoe County had $393.6 million in principal outstanding on a variety of debt instruments.
Moody's Investors Service rates the new issue Aa3 with a positive outlook. Standard & Poor's rates Washoe's outstanding bonds AA-minus. Fitch Ratings does not rate the county.
