Unbinding the Bonds

Oh What a Tangled Web They Weave...

BIG LIE #1: Dunne and Crandall claim that the Borough's decision to not issue long-term Municipal Bonds cost Ramsey taxpayers "hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional interest."

"FACTS:

The Mayor and Council have actually SAVED taxpayers money by using Bond Anticipation Notes ("BANs") to manage debt.
Looking back at the Borough’s Net Interest Cost over the last 11 years, the average is 1.62% using one-year BANs rather than longer-term bonds. For example, in 2021, to “lock in” rates for a long-term 10-year municipal bond would have required a rate much higher than a one-year Bond Anticipation Notes (BAN) – a long-term bond would have been more in the range of 2.5% - 2.75% Even looking back to only the last five years, the average interest cost of a Ban is 2.16%, and that rate is still 35 to 59 basis points below what borrowing a long-term municipal bond would have been.
Interest rates are higher, and rising, because of the disastrous economic policies of the federal administration over the last three years. Our opponents openly support this administration. Perhaps they should direct their energy to the root cause of the problem, and consider supporting fiscally responsible candidates this election cycle instead.

BIG LIE #2: Dunne and Crandall's website says: "The Borough could also be vulnerable to refinancing risk – what if bondholders don’t refinance when the debt is due?"

FACTS:

This statement is nonsensical. There are no "bondholders" involved with BANs, and "bondholders" do not have any role in a municipality's decision to refinance Bonds. Rather, Municipal Bonds are issued for sale via a complex series of documents that govern the terms of sale and the interest rates to be paid over time.
Using BANs actually keeps the decision to "refinance" in the hands of the governing body, as they can simply vote to "refinance" expiring BANS with new BANS via a new BAN ordinance.
"Refinancing" (correctly termed "refunding") long-term Bonds can only be done by issuing new long-term Bonds, which is as complex and costly as the original bond issuance.
Click here and here for more information about Municipal Finance and Municipal Bonds.

The Lack of Public Finance Knowledge Displayed

by Dunne and Crandall is Actually Quite Shocking

Jennifer Crandall did not seem to know the difference between bonds and debt position as recently as July of 2024, when the Borough Administrator tried to explain to her that debt position is the amount of outstanding debt the Borough has at any given point in time, while bond ordinances are the legal way in which specific types of debt are authorized.
While Ms. Crandall's lack of knowledge about municipal finance might be excusable, her running mate-a certified financial planner, MBA, and CPA and investment adviser-should know better.
The Borough Administrator and Borough Clerk went above and beyond their obligations in their responses to Ms. Crandall's OPRA Requests. In return, Ms. Crandall inaccurately accused them of withholding information.