Release from USD 305 concerning the $110 million dollar bond issue currently before Salina voters:

State Aid for $110 Bond Proposal Increases to 29% (from 27%)

Change Means the State Will Pay 29% of Bond Principal and Interest

A preliminary estimate of the State Aid percentage for the upcoming year has increased to 29 percent. In the past the District has received State Aid equal to 27 percent of the principal and interest payments on the bonds. This percentage will be increasing to 29 percent in the upcoming year.

The additional funding from the increased State Aid percentage will result in local taxpayers paying approximately $3,593,695 less in debt service over the life of the bond issue. This reduced cost to local taxpayers helps the District set the mill levy lower by approximately 1/2 mill in each year. The additional State Aid coupled with the lower interest rates creates an opportunity to lower the cost of the proposed improvements in the District.

Mill Levy Drops for $110 million dollar bond proposal based upon current interest rates

Change Means Owner of a $100,000 Home Would Pay an Extra $3.55 per month (Instead of originally projected $4.50)

Based upon current interest rates, the projected mill levy for the repayment of the bonds is 1 mill lower. For taxpayers, this reduces the monthly increase for an owner of a $100,000 home to $3.55 (from the original $4.50).

The mill levy could be set at 15.219 mills through 2022 instead of the originally projected 16.219 mills. The mill levy would stay near the 15.219 mills until starting to drop in FY 23. It would still be paid off in FY 34.

The District may or may not sell all the bonds at one time. The actual interest rates can fluctuate up to the time at which the bonds are sold to investors. Local tax payers will benefit from the lowering of interest rates in recent weeks.

The updated mill levy is based upon improved interest rates throughout the past several months. Additionally, a conservative estimate of interest rates was used in the analysis for calling the bond election. A standard approach, this allows for a fluctuation in rates before the bonds are approved or sold.