On Tuesday morning, City leadership announced another round of refinancing of old debt that saved the city almost $10 million.
City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas announced the savings of $9.4 million with the refinancing of the ballpark debt, resulting in overall refunding savings of $20.8 million from the two financial dealings.
Officials estimate the ballpark savings to be $9.4 million, $2.4 million more than originally projected. The ballpark savings will increase the total refinanced savings from $58.1 million to more than $67.5 million, since 2016.
The announcement comes a day after City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas advised the City Council that the refinancing of old debt saved the municipality $11.4 million.
“As we have seen over the last six years, the City Manager and I have been very focused on strengthening our financial standing and our efforts are paying off,” Cortinas said.
“We have been very aggressive about our financial planning and investments, and we are pleased with the ongoing results which are helping to reduce our debt and remain focused on funding community priorities related to quality of life, streets and public safety.”
According to the city, the team has also increased the City’s fund balance (i.e., the City’s savings account) by $41.6 million—or by 125 percent; created a budget stabilization fund (i.e., the City’s rainy-day fund) that now stands at $16.8 million; and created annual set-aside funds to address streets and public safety capital replacement minimizing the use of debt and addressing community priorities.
