With a looming expiration date and no timely meeting on the calendar, the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen met early in the morning on Friday, August 10, to sign a one-month extension to an existing bond anticipation note, or BAN.
A BAN is one manner of short-term municipal financing, and is issued prior to the issuance of a bond as a temporary source of financing for public projects, allowing for a capital project to begin before borrowing the entire amount.
The Town renews outstanding BANs on an annual basis, securing finance interest rates, while also adding new projects and bundling those amounts into existing BANs.
The board approved the extension of a BAN totaling $2.5 million at a 2.4% interest rate that would expire August 15 just hours before the next Board of Selectmen meeting on the same day, extending the BAN one month until September 11.
Another BAN for $1.725 million was approved at a 2.5% interest.
The BANs represent already existing borrowing amounts, with the exception of one new added amount of $150,000 for the water aquifer protection land approved at the last annual town meeting.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen is scheduled for August 15 at 6:30 pm at the Mattapoisett Town Hall.
Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen
By Jean Perry