Fire district saves taxpayers $195,000

The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District recently completed the process of issuing a general obligation refunding bond to lower the interest expense on the District fire station.

District taxpayers approved the issuance of bonds to fund the construction of the headquarters fire station in 2007. Annual interest rates on the bonds issued in 2007 were 4.5 percent. Recently, interest rates have fallen to the point that it made sense for the District to seek proposals to issue refunding bonds to lower the cost for District residents.

David Ulbricht with Special Districts Association of Oregon Advisory Services guided the District through the process. Six proposals were received by the District and Columbia State Bank was determined to have provided the best proposal with an annual interest rate of 1.87 percent.

The total savings for District residents is estimated to be $195,000 over the next 11 years.

District residents pay a property tax to fund the cost of the principal and interest on the bonds. The amount of property tax levied each year to service the bond debt should be less for District residents as a result of the bond sale.

Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Board President Chuck Newport said, "Our staff and board of directors are always looking for opportunities to be more efficient with property tax revenue, and this was a logical option for us."

Fire Chief Roger Johnson said, "We felt that the current interest rates were at risk of increasing, and it would be in the best interest of the District residents to act now."

The total amount of refunding bonds issued were $1.88 million.