Oswego Bond Plan To Save Residents $1.58 Million Over 15 Years

OSWEGO, IL — In June, the Oswego Village Board decided to refund some bonds to pay back old debt at a lower interest rate. The bond issuance is now finalized, staff announced at Tuesday night's board meeting, meaning Oswego residents will save about $1.58 million in interest payments over the next 15 years.

"By refinancing tax-exempt bonds as taxable bonds, we were able to take advantage of low interest rates in the market and deliver huge savings for our residents," Village President Troy Parlier said in a statement. "This is a great example of out-of-the-box thinking."

Transfers of money will take place Aug. 9, officials announced at Tuesday's board meeting.

Staff reviewed the village's outstanding debt back in May at the Village Board's request. They found three outstanding bond issuances from 2016 that were originally issued to finance the new Oswego Police Department headquarters.

The bonds matured after five years to be partially refunded, which was estimated in June to save the village about $1 million. Now with the finalized numbers, the village will save almost twice that — $1.58 million, which would have otherwise been lost to interest payments, according to a news release.

Village officials have employed other savings tactics recently, and the Board has lowered residents' tax rates in the last two years. In late 2019, water rates were decreased by 20 cents per hundred cubic feet, cutting water bills by about 3.7 percent — or $17.40 — annually for the average resident.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Oswego Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!)