Braselton to refinance $14 million in bonds

During a called meeting on Tuesday night, the town council agreed to refinance its 2003 water and sewer revenue bonds, which were initially issued in two series to fund infrastructure projects.

Merchant Capital, LLC handled the town’s last water and sewer revenue bonds in 2009. The firm wrote in a proposal to Braselton that interest rates have fallen and refinancing the 2003 bonds could save the town an estimated $1.3 million.

After expenses, the town is expected to save $1 million in interest with the refinanced 2003 bonds, which will mature in 2027.

Merchant Capital is slated to complete the refinancing before April 15.

Also during the called meeting, the town council approved a consent order, joint resolutions and intergovernmental agreements with Gwinnett County and its 15 cities to end a three-year legal battle over shared services.

Braselton was one of 15 cities in Gwinnett County to hold called meetings on Tuesday night to approve the agreements, before county government officials did the same later in the evening. A judge is expected to approve the agreements on Wednesday.

Since 2009, Gwinnett County and its cities have disputed the terms of a state law that outlines how services — such as police, fire and EMS — are handled without duplicating services in an area. The service delivery agreement is required of all 159 counties and their cities.

During the legal dispute, Gwinnett County and its cities were unable to receive state loans, grants and permits until those governments reached an agreement about its services.

“An agreement has been reached,” said Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, in a statement issued with other mayors in Gwinnett County. “The parties have worked continuously since the Court’s final ruling in October, 2011 by addressing the County’s unique budgeting and service provision issues. The Court provided clarity to the parties that allowed us to resolve these differences. In the last two weeks both sides have come together to address the remaining tax equity and service issue disputes.”

According to the Gwinnett Daily Post, the county government will pay $31 million to local governments and create special service districts that could lower taxes for some city residents.

With the agreement, new service districts were created for police, fire and emergency services, among others. Since Braselton has its own police department, the town council decided on Tuesday not to join the police service district established by Gwinnett County and its cities. Some cities in Gwinnett, such as Buford, don’t have their own police departments and depend on police protection from the county government.

The deal also allows Gwinnett County and its cities to begin applying for state grants, loans and permits — once it’s finalized by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

Braselton has been unable to seek such state grants and loans in the Gwinnett County portion of the town during the shared services dispute. However, that designation didn’t apply to the other portions of the town — which span into Jackson, Barrow and Hall counties.