At its regular meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m., the Danville City Council will consider issuing bonds for planned improvements to the city’s wastewater and electric systems. A maximum of $10 million in bonds would be issued to fund these projects.
This item is a first reading, which means that council members will discuss it for the first time at Tuesday’s meeting. A final vote will be taken at a later meeting.
The city’s approved budget for capital and special projects this fiscal year includes issuing debt for planned improvements to the wastewater and electric systems, according to the staff report in the meeting’s agenda packet.
These improvements include “electric substation upgrades and rebuilds, as well as overall system reliability improvements,” the staff report says.
The principal borrowing amount will not exceed $10 million, it says.
The Virginia Resources Authority, a state office that provides infrastructure financing to local governments, accepts applications from localities twice a year for a financing program to issue infrastructure revenue bonds.
Repaying the debt for these revenue bonds is funded by the utility service’s operations, and bonds issued through the Virginia Resource Authority usually have lower interest costs for the locality, according to the staff report.
Danville is the only municipality in Virginia that operates all four essential utility services: water, wastewater, electricity and natural gas. Danville has been in the utility business since 1876 and serves Danville, most Pittsylvania County households and also portions of Henry and Halifax counties.
City staff recommends that the council approve this item, “to ensure the city’s utility infrastructure projects can be completed, resulting in continued utility system efficiency and reliability.”
This is the only governmental meeting in Danville this week. In Pittsylvania County, the electoral board will meet at noon Tuesday, and the planning commission will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday.