Jeannette to save $185K by refinancing bond debt

Jeannette will save $185,000 by refinancing a 2016 bond, according to chief fiscal officer Ethan Keedy.

Council approved the measure Thursday. Keedy said the savings will be put into the capital reserve fund.

There is about $2.7 million remaining to repay through April 2033 with an interest rate ranging between 2.5% to 3.75%. Keedy said with the refinance, the interest rate will drop to 1.79%.

The city will see the entirety of that savings in 2022. The regular annual payment is $269,000, but the city will instead pay $84,000 and save $185,000, which is the net savings for the remaining 11 years of the bond.

The payment amount will return to about $269,000 through 2033, Keedy said.

“I did not want a higher payment and I did not want to extend the payments out further,” he said. “We’re saving it all at once, and then we’re making the same payment we always made.”

The city used the bond to buy a fire truck and two garbage trucks and made improvements at city hall.