Owen City Council Discusses Financing
Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 -- 7:42 AM
-The Owen City Council discussed financing at their meeting last week.A representative with Ehlers & Associates gave a presentation on where the city currently stands financially and what needs to be done moving forward. Elhers has assisted the city with financial matters going back several years. The matter at hand, currently, is the Heartland Project. At this time, the city can refinance previous debts they have occurred, plus the additional capital needed for the Heartland project, and transition that into a TID Revenue Bond Loan. This will free up their general obligation borrowing capacity. The representative recommended partnering with DA Davison out of Iowa. They work with banks all across the country, and more importantly, they have worked with other municipalities in similar situations with positive results. Brian assured those present the city is in an ideal position right now to accomplish this, paying off both previous obligations and assuming present obligations. The council approved moving forward with the plan.
The council also discussed a Personnel Committee recommendation before going into closed session to discuss it further. It was reported the Personnel Committee had voted to recommend the city pay employee Dennis Looker an additional $266 a month to pay for his wife’s insurance premium. The Employee Handbook mandates anyone turning 65 be off their insurance and be covered under Medicare. As the city would be saving money by Dennis going from a couple to a single plan, Dennis felt the City should cover the cost of his wife’s premium. After the closed session, the council approved to deny additional payment to Dennis Looker for his spouse’s insurance.
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