Grandview bond issue request expected to total 3.88 mills
The $25-million bond issue the city of Grandview Heights is planning to place on the Nov. 8 ballot is expected to be a 3.88-mill measure.
Director of Finance Megan Miller provided an overview of the finances behind the proposed issue, which, if approved by voters, would provide most of the funding for a new fire/police/municipal services building planned for the southeast corner of Grandview Avenue and Goodale Boulevard.
Miller gave her presentation at the July 5 council meeting. Council held first reading of the legislation to proceed with the bond issue at the meeting.
The council is expected to hold a third reading and final vote on the ordinance at its Aug. 1 meeting.
Council approved a resolution of necessity June 21 for the bond issue and requested a determination of the millage amount needed for a 28-year, $25-million bond issue from the Franklin County auditor.
The 3.88 mills would equate to an annual additional cost of $136 in property taxes per $100,000 of county auditor market value, Miller said.
The average market value of a home in Grandview Heights is $464,671, she said.
If voters approve the bond issue, the owner of a home with that assessed value would pay an additional $632 annually in property taxes, or about $53 per month, according to Miller.
Grandview ranks 10th out of 11 outer-ring central-Ohio suburbs in effective millage rate, Miller said.
The city's current effective millage rate is about 62.5 mills, with only Columbus ranked below Grandview among the 11 communities, she said. Westerville has the highest effective rate at about 82.365 mills.
Even if Grandview's 3.88-mill bond issue passed, the city would still rank 10th, Miller said.
The bond issue would increase the city's effective millage rate to about 66.38 mills, she said.
While a final design for the proposed municipal complex is still to be determined, the city has projected the total cost of the project between $31 to $35 million, Miller said.
The city is planning to use between $6 and $10 million in cash reserves, accumulated by various cost savings over the past decade, to make up the remaining cost that would not be covered by the bond issue, she said.
The 105-day rainy day cash reserve the city maintains for financial emergencies would not be impacted by the financing, Miller said.
The projected cost breakdown of the project includes $27 to $30 million for the construction of the combined fire/police/municipal services building, $3 million to $4 million for the cost of building a new Grandview Center at McKinley Field at 1661 Goodale Blvd. and up to $1 million to prepare the current municipal building site at 1016 Grandview Ave. to be incorporated as part of the adjacent Wyman Woods Park, she said.
The current Grandview Center at 1515 Goodale Blvd., which hosts senior center and parks and recreation activities and classes, would be torn down to make room for the new municipal complex at the southeast corner of Goodale and Grandview.
Pursuing voter approval of a property tax bond issue is one way to service debt, Mayor Greta Kearns said.
Another option is using income tax, "but income tax can be volatile and right now, we are in a period where it's proven volatile," she said. "Property tax is a stable, long-term way to service debt."
Grandview has maintained a AAA credit rating since 2013, according to Kearns.
"The city does not have any voted bonds on the books and we haven't for some time," she said.
"The last one was in 1961. That was voted on (to pay for) the 1963 addition to the municipal building at 1016 Grandview Ave."
That site has "gotten us through the last 100 years," she said.
"We're looking to the next 100 years" and to build a new municipal facility that is to allow Grandview to remain a full-service community, Kearns said.
afroman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekAfroman
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Grandview bond issue request expected to total 3.88 mills
