Town of Babylon prepares to market bonds

The Town of Babylon is preparing to put nearly $28 million in bonds on the market.

Most of the bonds -- $18.2 million -- are new bonds being issued for a range of projects, including $8.5 million in property acquisitions in Wyandanch related to the town's Wyandanch Rising downtown revitalization efforts and $5 million for redeveloping Geiger Lake Park.

Various other park improvements make up another $2.5 million, and road reconstruction and bulkhead improvements take up the remaining $2.2 million.

The town is refunding -- or refinancing -- another $9.6 million in outstanding balance for more than $40 million in bonds that were issued between 1999 and 2001 and are now available to be put on the market. The majority of those bonds, $13 million, was used for litigation and settlements. The second largest portion of those bonds, $12.5 million, was used for expansion and closure costs related to the town's ashfill and landfill.

The town estimates it could save nearly $400,000 by refinancing the old bonds at lower interest rates now available. "It's like we're lowering our mortgage payments," said Doug Jacob, a consultant for the town and former town comptroller.

The refinancing requires permission from the state comptroller's office.

Residents can also have a say: they have 30 days from the time the resolution on the bonding was passed -- May 8 -- to stop the bonding by gathering the signatures of 5 percent of the total resident vote cast in the last state general election.

Jacob said that within the next two weeks the town will ask ratings agencies to rate the town's bonds. Through a request for proposals, the town has chosen three managing underwriters for the bonds: Samuel A. Ramirez & Co. Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Roosevelt & Cross Inc., all of Manhattan.

The town last refinanced bonds in 2008, Jacob said.