LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Finance Committee is recommending that the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee immediately start to make principal payments on the debt incurred for its building project.
The Finance Committee unanimously urged on Monday that payments be made on both interest and principal in fiscal 2017 instead of delaying the tax impacts by only paying interest.
Committee member Steven Wentworth estimates that over the course of the bond, making principal payments immediately will save as much as $1 million.
"There is no question that if you pay sooner, you pay less," Wentworth said.
School administrators presented two options to the Finance Committee, both with estimated costs as "worst case scenarios." The plans used interest rates expected to be higher than anticipated.
"We are hoping the numbers will come in less," School Committee Chairwoman Carrie Greene said.
Business Manager Nancy Raucher provided estimates for 2017 as being $362,287 if only paying interest and $560,993 if making payments on interest and principal. By choosing the second option, in fiscal 2018, the gap between the two closes and in the third year (2019) option B is less than option A.
"That's the year the principal and interest payment is actually less," she said.
By 2020, the payments level off to become more stable. But by making payments on principal in those first three years, the district will save on interest. The interest-only option would have lower payments at first, but ramp up over those three years.
Chairman Al Terranova said while he understands that some residents would rather delay taking such a hit on the tax rate, the town will ultimately be better served in the long run.
"They chose to go with the interest and principal because they would prefer to stair step it more gradually and have more of an upfront cost," Greene said.
The money for the project is a part of the Mount Greylock budget. The current budget proposal calls for about a $13,000 decrease in Lanesborough's assessment.
However, on Tuesday, the School Committee will choose to add additional funds for the debt services as an amendment to the budget.
"These are estimates and whatever the School Committee chooses will be a 'no greater than' number. We won't be able to spend any more than that number on debt services," Greene said.
The exact terms of the bond or multiple bonds won't be known until the fall, when the School Committee will borrow the money. Until then, short-term bond anticipation notes are being used to fund further design work.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships
LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock.
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC).
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities. MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities.
Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more
On Saturday afternoon at Lowell’s Tsongas Center, the Hurricanes will take aim at Division 5 State Championships in girls and boys basketball. click for more
Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Bella Kotek Sunday completed a Berkshire County sweep at the State Bowling Championships at Bowlero.
click for more
Emily Holian’s strike to open the 10th frame of the Wildcats’ second game against Worcester Tech all but assured Lee a team title at Bowlero Chicopee.
click for more
Hoosac struggled to get into rhythm on the offensive end until Joey McGovern got the 3-ball working. McGovern finished the game with 21 points including a triple in the fourth quarter that cemented him in the record books. It took him nearly the whole game but he was able to join the 1,000-point... click for more
Pittsfield High's Eliza Mullen won state title and in the giant slalom and slalom, winning the former discipline by 1.6 seconds and the latter by nearly 2.7 seconds.
click for more