By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Brighton City Council has approved their 2021 bond program.

Brighton City Manager Nate Geinzer was before City Council Thursday night during their online meeting seeking direction on their proposed bond program outline. City Council had decisions to make on repayment terms for 4 project categories, whether to include stub streets, and if they wanted to fold in contingencies.

For their proposed 2021 projects, Geinzer said he felt confident in 10 year repayments, but thought there benefits to going slightly longer. He told Council that the idea for 12 years was based on conversations with bond counsel, as it could give them a little more flexibility and room to work with. Geinzer noted that interest rates are historically low right now, and in a report to City Council he added that based on discussions with their bond agent, demand for quality municipal bonds is high with interest expected to be sub 2% even under a longer-term scenario.

City Council elected to go with the recommended 12 year repayment term for the northwest neighborhood streets project. They chose 10 year repayment for both the Rickett Road Phase II with sidewalks and miscellaneous capital projects. Finally, for their water and wastewater utility project, Council went with Geinzer’s 15 year recommendation. Councilmembers also voted to include Grand River stub streets with those being Beaver, Liberty, Dutcher, Spencer, and a portion of Flint. They also chose to go with a 10% contingency, leading the final bond project cost to come in at just over $17.5-million.

The final bond authorizing resolution is expected to be before City Council at their January 7th meeting.