The Norcross City Council gave the go-ahead to its financial advisors at its April 6 meeting to borrow $6 million in order to fund the complete construction of a new public safety building.
Before the city locks in an interest rate on its revenue bonds at an upcoming special-called meeting, elected officials had to finalize a borrowing amount first.
The city is utilizing the Norcross Urban Redevelopment Agency to issue a $6 million 20-year bond, with repayment through an intergovernmental agreement. Norcross officials say the approach allows the city to move forward with a critical investment in police and municipal court facilities while maintaining financial flexibility.
Norcross officials debate bond
City Attorney Bill Diehl, a partner at Thompson, O’Brien, Kappler & Nasuti, said council members needed to decide exactly how much they wanted to borrow for the construction of the new Norcross Public Safety Building.
“We had a little bit of volatility on interest rates over the weekend related to the war in Iran, and we can’t give you finalized rates,” Diehl said. “The rates this morning were at about 4.4% … so slightly above what I gave you guys on Friday, but we can’t lock in those rates until we have a little bit more finality on the principal that you all want to borrow.”
Elected officials discussed several aspects of the bond issuance, including the interest rate given by Regions Bank, which increased from 4.33% to 4.4% over the weekend.
Council members floated borrowing $8 million and waiting a week or so to see if interest rates drop. Without a consensus on where interest rates are headed, council members decided against “gambling” with the markets.
Council Member Josh Bare said he thought the city should get the bond issuance done and get a different loan for future projects.
“I hope we just had me kind of crystal ball here to make the perfect decision,” Bare said. “My gut tells me, stick it to the $6 million.”
With the bond issuance set, the city will be able to close with its preferred lender, Regions Bank, once a final interest rate and payment schedule is finalized at a special meeting.
With $6 million as the principal amount for bond issuance, the council will need to hold a special-called meeting in the coming weeks to approve an exact interest rate for bond issuance.
Legislative session recap
State Rep. Arlene Beckles, a former member of the Norcross City Council, spoke about this year’s legislative session and the impact on senior citizens. Beckles said representatives and senators secured some “good wins for us under the health section.”
The General Assembly passed legislation that bars artificial intelligence from denying insurance coverage (SB 444), strengthens protections against insurance fraud (SB 503), and allows reimbursements for mental health support (SB 428).
Beckles also touted nonpartisan wins for Norcross residents, like the surplus tax rebate under HB 1000 and suspension of the state gas tax. She said the questions she gets the most are about homestead exemptions, which she said have been protected.
One of the more controversial bills this legislative session, HB 1116, would have significantly reduced property taxes for homesteads.
“Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for working with me on HB 1116, which would have been detrimental to the cities in Gwinnett County,” Beckles said. “So I appreciate you trusting me and working with me on trying to stop that.”
While the Senate voted down HB 1116, the state legislature passed SB 33, which limits the annual increase to a home’s taxable value to the rate of inflation. Previously, local governments could decide whether to opt out of implementing the assessment cap in HB 581.
While SB 33 has options for local governments to recoup revenue with a new sales tax, it does not cap overall property tax collections or enact new statewide homestead exemptions.
Other Norcross actions
• Council approved a rezoning request for a downtown block at Academy Street and Lawrenceville Street to allow for 15 custom-built, single-family homes, with a public alley through the site.
• Elected officials approved a construction budget for about 65 new parking spaces near city hall, ranging from $2.6 million to $2.8 million.
• Council appropriated $3.5 million in 2023 SPLOST funds toward the new public safety building ($2 million) and roadway paving projects ($1.5 million).
