The Aurora City Council has authorized the sale of up to $56 million in bonds to fund capital and economic development projects, and refinance existing bond issues.
Officials have said the bond issue would not be paid by any additional property taxes. Chris Minick, the city’s chief financial officer, has said the city would pay the bonds with other revenue, and abate the tax levy for this issue.
The bonds would pay for about $16 million in 22 capital projects already budgeted in 2022; about $21.5 million in refinancing three existing bond issues; and about $12.2 million in payments the city is committed to involving economic development projects in 2022.
The remainder of the money raised would pay for the issuance of the bonds.
The economic development projects involved include money due on some of the bigger projects in the city, including the Hobbs Building, the Craft Urban building, the Terminal Building, the Keystone Building and the former West Aurora School District Administration Building at 80 S. River St.
It also includes $3 million to DAC Developments, which is building the apartment complex along North Broadway on the east bank of the Fox River downtown, and $5 million toward work along Bilter Road, where the city bought and tore down five properties.
The biggest capital projects and the money budgeted toward them include: $7.5 million toward the combined maintenance facility; $1 million toward building Fire Station Number 13; $1.8 million toward relocating Fire Station Number 4; $1.8 million toward buying a ladder truck; and $500,000 for improvements to the Stolp Island parking deck.
There are also a number of smaller projects in the capital projects list, some of which were previously budgeted but delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The existing bond issues to be refinanced would be the 2012 and 2013 bonds issued to help build the new Aurora Public Library, at River and Benton streets.
Minick has said the issue would be capped at $56 million, but the city will not know exactly how much it will be until the bonds are actually sold.
