Photos and Post courtesy of Steve Kim
Ridgewood NJ, according to Steve Kim on the Facebook page It Takes a Ridgewood Village, “These are the details of a long-dated Ridgewood BOE Bond: 2035 maturity/2027 call
If the school is borrowing $70 million-plus, and use only a part of that in years 1 and 2, how would the sitting fund be managed? Who manages that? Phoenix Financial?
These bonds are amortized, so there are scheduled principal payment each year. Why borrow a lot and beholden to larger scheduled principal payments in years 1 and 2? Why not borrow as needed via smaller sets of referendum done in April, the election time.
The Required contingency fund reserve is 5 percent. Because the project horizon is extended to several years, they are adding a cushion of another 5 percent. That’s more debt for no reason… $ that can go towards improving education instead.
This is why it’s essential to have the budget vote. Having that least gives the residents leverage to ask for transparency and accountability. Those who fund the system should have the final say. A lot can be pushed forward via waivers and reserves to get under the cap in any year.”
Great graphic.