Monday, April 8, 2019. Clinton, CT: On Wednesday, March 27, 2019, the Town of Clinton sold $12.1 million in tax-exempt general obligation funding bonds to refinance certain longer-dated maturities of the Town’s 2012, 2013, and 2014 bonds, resulting in a significant savings to the Town. The transaction was extremely well received in the market due to the Town's excellent credit rating and its respected name in the municipal bond market.
The refinancing was possible due in large part to the Town of Clinton’s AA+ excellent credit rating and its respected name in the municipal bond market. In its credit rating report, S&P Global Ratings noted the Town’s “very strong economy and very strong budgetary flexibility supported by balanced operations.” Further supporting the AA+ credit rating was the Town’s strong liquidity, strong debt, focus on economic development, and contingent liability profile.
With the refinancing, the Town will save over $758,000 in debt service over 14 years, a savings equated to approximately 4.7 percent of the prior bonds, or more than 1.5 times the minimum savings threshold recommended by the Government Finance Officers of America. The new bonds will have a final maturity of August 2033 and carry an interest rate of 2.28 percent without extending the previous maturity date. The Town saved $183,519 in this next fiscal year alone.
Christine Goupil, Town of Clinton First Selectman, says “This refinance is an important step that benefit’s the Town, and individual taxpayers. We are working incredibly hard to maintain our strong AA+ credit rating, and to find ways where we can improve efficiency and save tax payers money. The debt service refinance is one area where we were able to better manage the long-term debt, saving the Town three-quarters of a million dollars over the next 14 years.”
The Town of Clinton was assisted by Pullman & Comley, LLC as bond counsel and Hilltop Securities, Inc. as the municipal advisor.