Boone County saves thousands from refinancing jail bond - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Will the 1 per cent sales PSB tax end in 2018?

The $9.3 million bond was originally issued in 1999 to help pay for the county jail. It is set to expire in 2018.

Additionally, the board received an Aa2 bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service, which is the third highest bond rating offered by the agency. To receive that rating, County Administrator Ken Terrinoni met with representatives from Moody’s Investors Service, who interviewed him about the county’s finances for an hour. 

“We gave them a full picture of our finances, and they were mostly questioning the ways we got through this recent recession,” he said.

The agency said the county’s strengths included a strong and conservative management team, as well as having a healthy reserve level. One of its weaknesses included relying on sales tax revenues.

Boone County saves thousands from refinancing jail bond - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Refinancing jail bonds will save Boone County $377,000 | Belvidere Daily Republican

Written by Bob Balgemann

Refinancing $3.32 million worth of bonds, the remaining amount from the $9.3 million issuance in 1999 for jail construction and other projects, will save the county an estimated $377,000 in interest.

The repayment interest was reduced from 3.7 percent to 0.97 percent thanks to a AA bond rating …

The half-cent public safety sales tax, approved in 1999 for the jail project and others, is due to expire in 2018. It has generated more than enough money for the annual bond repayment, and sometimes elicited controversy as to how the overage should be spent.

Click on the following to read the entire article:  Refinancing jail bonds will save Boone County $377,000 | Belvidere Daily Republican

Belvidere Township to have referendum on electric aggregation | Belvidere Daily Republican

Written by Bob Balgemann

….5-0 vote to approve the necessary ordinance came Aug. 14. Then the ordinance was filed with the Boone County Clerk’s office so the vote can be part the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

Supporters claim residents and small businesses can expect to see reductions of up to 25 percent in their monthly electric bills.

Residents of unincorporated Boone County voted against aggregation in the March 2012 primary election, as did those in the village of Poplar Grove…..

 

While Poplar Grove will have a second referendum Nov. 6, the county can’t have another one until February 2014. Given that, Belvidere Township officials decided to try and schedule a vote for their residents living in the unincorporated area.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Belvidere Township to have referendum on electric aggregation | Belvidere Daily Republican

Condition of bridges in Boone County raises concern

Read the entire story(by clicking at bottom) to find out about the county bridge at Green Giant.

Of that number eight county bridges and 10 township bridges are between 40 and 55 years. With the average life of a bridge being 50 years, he noted, “The next decade could see a large number of bridges needing to be replaced.”

He told the committee the county “has a pretty good reserve – $3 ½ million.”

“Most of them will have to be done in the next 20 years,” Hunt

Read the entire story by clicking on the following: http://www.belvideredailyrepublican.net/news/condition-of-bridges-in-boone-county-raises-concern/

US over 15% on its way to the 2030 goal of producing 20% of its energy from wind

The following is taken from the government publication:http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/resources.html

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

Committees to consider wind farm regulations later in August

Written by Bob Balgemann

Two Boone County advisory committees will be holding public meetings on proposed new wind farm regulations later this month.

First stop will be the planning commission at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 in the county building, 1212 Logan Ave.

Next up will be the zoning board of appeals at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at the same location…..

The final stop will be the county board, either in September or October.

At some point after that Mainstream Renewable Power is expected to apply for a special use permit, to allow development of an 8,000-acre wind farm on the northeast side of the county.

Upwards of 100 wind turbines are being proposed for that property, which is bordered by Grade School Road on the west, the Wisconsin state line to the north, North Boone School road on the south and the McHenry County line to the east. All of the land is in Manchester and Leroy townships.

Click on the following for more details:http://www.belvideredailyrepublican.net/news/committees-to-consider-wind-farm-regulations-later-in-august/

Wind farm development in Illinois, elsewhere likely to slow in 2013

 

By Brian Leaf

BUSINESSROCKFORD.COM

 

• ROCKFORD — Wind power is the most visible form of electricity generation and only one state, California, made it more visible in 2011 than Illinois.

The Department of Energy said in a report last week that Illinois installed turbines capable of generating 692 megawatts wind power capacity, bringing the state’s capacity to 2,700 MW — enough to power about 680,000 homes. California led the nation with 921 MW of new capacity.

While the DOE expects 2012 to be another strong year for new wind energy, development of wind farms will dramatically slow in 2013. That’s because tax credits that provide wind energy producers 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour expire at the end of the year.

The tax credits have become part of an energy policy debate between Democratic President Barack Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney, which makes the likelihood of an extension before the November election doubtful.

Click  on the following to read all of the story:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/x1782330807/Wind-farm-development-in-Illinois-elsewhere-likely-to-slow-in-2013