The Delaware County Finance Authority (DCFA) recently passed a resolution to administer a bond fund for the Delaware County Treasurer’s Office.
The resolution enables the DCFA to back bonds issued by the treasurer’s office to Delaware County cities, villages and townships. It also enables the authority to earn a bond rating from such rating agencies as Standard & Poor’s.
The bonds will be backed by a $3.5 million infusion of cash to the DCFA from the office of Treasurer Donald E. Rankey Jr. Those funds will be held in reserve to back the bonds.
Finance Authority Chairman Bill Bishop said that passing the resolution gives the DCFA greater opportunity to promote and support growth in Delaware County.
“Some of our counterparts around the state already have bond funds in place,” Bishop said. “Most of them are in larger, metropolitan areas. This gives Delaware County an opportunity to compete on a level playing field. We will be able to back bonds that support our local governments with infrastructure and projects that improve our communities and our quality of life. When you combine our bond fund with the financial tools already available to the Finance Authority, it will make us an even more formidable agency when competing with other counties for development.”
The bond fund was created by Rankey, who oversees an investment portfolio with an average balance of $250 million. By creating the bond fund, Rankey said local governmental entities can finance – or refinance – projects at a lower interest rate than can be found on the open market. Conversely, the taxpayers of Delaware County will earn more interest on their money than can be found on the market.
By law, governmental entities, such as the treasurer’s office, are restricted in the types of investments they can make. The bond fund is reserved for Delaware County governmental entities.
Liberty Township recently became the first entity to take advantage of the bond fund, agreeing to purchase bonds to assist in the construction of a new township hall, a new road department facility behind Liberty Park, and a new building for Fire Station 321.
The Delaware County Finance Authority is a political subdivision created by the Delaware County commissioners to assist in economic development and job creation in Delaware County.
