The Harford County Council agreed Tuesday to a request by County Executive Barry Glassman to sell up to $45 million in new bonds next month.
Money raised from the sale will be used for 39 general capital projects, including construction, renovations and communications equipment purchases and 11 water and sewer projects, according to Resolution No. 7-15 approved by the council.
The money from the $45 million in new borrowing is destined for projects already under way or for expenditures previously budgeted, including: $5.5 million toward the new Allied Health and Nursing Building at Harford Community College, $8.5 million toward the new Department of Emergency Services headquarters, $2.3 million toward the HMAN (Harford Metro Area Network) fiber optic system, $2.1 million toward Magnolia Middle School's heating and air-conditioning system, $1.9 million toward the Havre de Grace Library expansion and $3 million toward equipment for a 700 MHz wireless radio system.
County government spokesperson Cindy Mumby noted the $8.5 million from the bond sale is for costs incurred in building the new Emergency Operations Center, not for a small companion building at the Hickory site north of Bel Air.
The center was scheduled to have an additional hazmat and radio component, but Mumby said that remains on hold for the foreseeable future, as Glassman has pledged to avoid moving on any new capital projects.
The sale of the 2015 consolidated public improvement bonds is scheduled for April 7.
The council also approved a second resolution to authorize the sale of $74 million in refunding bonds, by which the county expects to refinance some of its older bond debt at lower interest rates. A companion bill authorizing the refunding of up $85 million from the consolidated public improvement bond issue of 2009 also was approved.
The 2009 improvement bond projects to be refinanced include $1.1 million borrowed toward site acquisition of Joppatowne Elementary School, $6.8 million for modernization, $4 million toward Deerfield Elementary School modernization, $39 million toward the Bel Air High School replacement, $24 million toward the Abingdon water treatment plant expansion and $6 million toward the expansion of the Harford Waste Disposal Center.
The refunding process lets the county take advantage of lower interest rates, reducing the overall cost of 26 projects, according to the bill's fiscal impact note.
The refunding bonds sale is also planned for April 7, according to the resolution.
The refunding is expected to save the county $559,000 in fiscal year 2016 and $194,500 each year for the next four years, according to a fiscal impact note.
It is also projected to have a savings of $6.9 million over the 15-year term of the new bonds.
Autism classrooms funding
Earlier this month, the county council approved a capital budget transfer requested by the county Board of Education to accommodate an autism program at Fallston High School, moving senior high school students with autism from Patterson Mill Middle/High School.
Susan Austin, director of special education for Harford County Public Schools, told the council during its March 3 legislative session that the autism program has 20 students with significant disabilities at Patterson Mill and is expected to have at least 21 students next year.
"This has a significant impact on the school," Austin said. "We are at a critical juncture."
Austin noted that "Fallston is underutilized, so it seemed to make sense."
Moving the program requires a shift from one school capital project to another, in the amount of $250,000, to retrofit new classrooms and other facilities at Fallston. The council must approve such transfers.
Council President Richard Slutzky said the move makes sense, as Fallston was one of the more underutilized schools.
Patterson Mill is about 95 percent of its capacity while Fallston is roughly 70 percent, he said.
"It's almost antithetical not to do it," he added.