Couple of things
- The RDC flap thing is official as Athens-Clarke County District Six Commissioner Carl Jordan officially submitted his letter of resignation from the authority after only one meeting. I talked about it earlier, though it was mostly me asking questions. Two observations ... first, am I mistaken on this, but don't commissioners actually serve on committees as assigned by the mayor? I mean, can Jordan really resign? I suppose he can, but this would mean he'd have to be penciled in for something else right? And, the other thing is that I stand by my original comments, which is that while Jordan disagreed with this specific issue, it does seem rather counterproductive to just quit the whole thing altogether. On top of that, don't come out and say that one of the reasons is because of your 'lack of influence' ... or worse, your 'lack of press coverage.' Much of the best work done by any branch of government is found in the art of compromise away from the glaring spotlight of celebrity-hood.
- Regarding the alcohol ordinance revisions, Elton Dodson responded to me, so I responded to him.
- I'm not exactly sure what Donald Burkhard would have us do then. According to his observations, I suppose I need to line my house with solar panels.
- Flack has a link to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer's beatdown of the Glenn Tax.
- Apparently Paul Broun made one of his first votes stand out as he was the only Georgia Republican to vote against appropriating funds for the Department of Justice to prevent states from legalizing the use of medical marijuana. That's definitely libertarian of him ...
- Steve echoes my thoughts on the Obama-Clinton foreign policy flap, but also puts the whole thing in its appropriate context.
- Let's not forget folks, vote for Blue Moon Electric ... because this guy can wire a mean house.
- Regarding the alcohol ordinance revisions, Elton Dodson responded to me, so I responded to him.
- I'm not exactly sure what Donald Burkhard would have us do then. According to his observations, I suppose I need to line my house with solar panels.
- Flack has a link to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer's beatdown of the Glenn Tax.
- Apparently Paul Broun made one of his first votes stand out as he was the only Georgia Republican to vote against appropriating funds for the Department of Justice to prevent states from legalizing the use of medical marijuana. That's definitely libertarian of him ...
- Steve echoes my thoughts on the Obama-Clinton foreign policy flap, but also puts the whole thing in its appropriate context.
- Let's not forget folks, vote for Blue Moon Electric ... because this guy can wire a mean house.
posted by Jmac at 7:48 AM
9 Comments:
Just for clarification. On the loan issue, the taxpayers will not be on the hook even in the slightest for the loan. I believe the interest rate is fantastic from Wachovia and it has been through several layers of review.
The tax payers ARE on the hook for the membership fee. We are members of the regional development authority, and for good reason. If they raise their membership fee, then obviously that means we pay more.
I regret Commissioner Jordon will not be participating. His eye for detail would have been useful.
Also, great dialogue on the comments in response to my response to you on the alcohol ordiance proposal.
elton
Oh, and help me connect the turtle to wiring a house for electric. Sounds crueler than the dog tethering issue we are working on.
On the loan issue, the taxpayers will not be on the hook even in the slightest for the loan.
This is a point that I would like to for someone to explain to me, because everyone keeps saying it.
Quote: "The Athens-Clarke Public Facilities Authority is backing a $961,000 loan from Wachovia Bank "
So what does "backing" mean? Sure the RDC " is using its Research Drive property, worth about $2 million, as collateral" but a tornado hit, and someone forgot to pay the insurance premium. Who ultimately is responsible for paying the loan is RDC defaults? The authority has no taxing ability and no assets, so the liability has to pass through it to some other entity that is credit worthy.
Who or what would that entity be?
The ABH story doesn't make any sense, because if the RDC can't take out a loan, how can it pledge it's property for collateral? Maybe I'm just too dense, but isn't collateral security for a "loan". Money is going into RDC's pockets, and it is going to have to repay it or lose it's property, which pretty much sounds like a loan to me.
So very worse case scenario, who has to repay Wachovia?
Okay. I’m no bond attorney, but I’ll do my best.
The Public Facilities Authority is not “backing” the financing at all. The authority acts as a conduit through which the payments are made and actually acts as the owner of the improved property, subject to a lease back to the borrower (in this case, the RDC). Wachovia is doing this because bonds will be sold to finance the project over time. The bank loan enables the project to get its cash together now.
So if the government is not acting as a backer (or cosigner) of the financing, then why do it this way? Tax advantages. Because the government actually owns the property for the duration of the loan, it is tax exempt. This allows for much lower interest rates and for longer terms on the loan.
Every single one of these deals specifically disavows any liability on the part of the Authority and, therefore, the taxpayers. Period. Zero risk. The Industrial Development Authority and the Economic Development Authority work the same way. And the RDC certainly can take out a loan.
Okay. I’m no bond attorney, but I’ll do my best.
All that makes sense.
Is the only cash flow to service the bonds the membership fees of the counties in RDC?
Is each county obligated or required by law to pay its part? What happens if Oconee County says "to hell with the RDC"
JMac - yes, Carl can resign. Yes, the mayor appoints committees, with input from the commissioners. No, he won't necessarily be appointed to another one. It's not like every commissioner needs to be on X number of committees.
Stopthebs - the story clearly states that the RDC, not ACC, is responsible for the loan. The word "backing" is a simple word used out of necessity to describe the very complex thing the authority does. My understanding is that it legally confers its ability to take out a loan onto the RDC by serving as a pass-through or facilitator between the bank and the RDC.
It's very similar to the bonds the industrial authority issues to private industry. They just arrange an agreement between a bank and a company, allowing the company to take advantage of the county's excellent bond rating, but without any financial obligation to taxpayers. A letter of credit from financial backers is required to guard against default.
I don't think a county can withdraw from the RDC, but I seriously doubt any would want to given the essential services it provides.
This stuff is very confusing and hard to write about.
Blake
Elton - the RDC guys told me state law says they can't take out a loan.
Blake
Burkhard is correct. Biofuels is not going to solve the problem, particularly since our current food production is maintained through the abundant use of oil converted into fertilizer. Technological innovation could allow us to use pulp and wood produced from plant and forest harvesting—some of which is currently left to burn—to produce fuels, but we are not there yet.
Having personal solar panels may offset your own energy use, but not every place in the world can easily use solar energy. Just as wind and thermal energy have geographic limitations. Oil and coal have served the world well to hyperstimulate growth, but our growth perhaps has been like the seed that fell among the rocky places.
Not to mention that the widespread subsidization of ethanol poses a threat to the world's food supply in other ways, too.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnhart/barnhart48.html
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