By Claudette Langley
Posted: Tuesday, July 7, 2009 10:23 AM CDT
July's grand jury report was decidedly less explosive than last year's, which heavily criticized several county departments, the big question raised this year concerned financing for the jail property.
The grand jury looked into the use of certificates of participation to purchase about 58 acres of land that will house the county's new criminal justice center, which includes a new courthouse, a new detention facility and a new sheriff's administration building.
“A certificate of participation is a method of funding used by governing agencies for construction or improvement of public facilities,” the grand jury report reads.
The report goes on to say COPs do not constitute public debt and therefore do not require voter approval.”
The grand jury findings include, that without a public vote, the county has assumed an obligation of $14,645,749 with a 30-year payback schedule; the cost of issuance and underwriting discount for the COP was $253,454 and that there appears to be little understanding or awareness of this type of financing on the part of the public.
The $14.6 million figure contained in the grand jury report may have led some residents to believe it was the cost for the purchase of the property, however, according to Assistant County Administrator Shirley Ryan, it is actually the cost to pay back the $7.7 million that was raised by the sale of COPs.
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http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/articles/2009/07/07/news/news02_jury.txt
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