I am one of the main proponents of the bond referendum that will appear on the ballot on November 3.
Many Key Biscayne residents have approached me to ask, “How can someone who has tried to lower taxes every one of the six years you have been on council, support giving council the authorization to issue up to $100 million of general obligation bonds? When you have consistently tried each year to make the government more efficient, lower costs, provide first class services, reduce waste, and lower taxes.”
The answer is simple. The issuance of general obligation bonds is the cheapest debt instrument that the village can issue, now and in the future. The term is the longest together with non-ad valorem bonds.
General obligation bonds, because of their lower interest rate and longer term, result in the lowest annual amount of funds required to pay for capital improvements over the longest term.
The bonds will only be issued when the village decides to proceed with large capital projects that will ensure our village remains livable and enjoyable as a result of rising sea level, hurricanes and beach erosion. The amount of bonds issued, and the timing of the issuance, will correspond to the cost and approval of each project.
Residents are concerned that giving the council the authorization to issue GO bonds will result in wasting money on unnecessary projects that will not benefit the village, but will raise our taxes for the next 30 years.
However, money will only be spent as needed for the three types of projects included in the referendum, as each project is approved…
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