William Mayer, a partner at DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole, LLP and member of the firm's public finance practice, was recently invited in front of the Barnegat Township Council to explain public bonds to local residents. Recently, Barnegat residents had circulated a petition to use pending state aid to pay down existing bond debt.
"It's not a bad idea," said Mayer. "It's a healthy idea. It's the same thrifty impulse that drives people to pay down their credit card debt in flush times." Mayer then explained it's not that simple. From the Barnegat Patch:
The district has three outstanding bonds, Mayer said, two dating to 2004 and one dating to 2007. But, he said, as with many bonds, there are restrictions on how soon the district can start paying them off. That's because at the outset, investors want to know they'll be able to collect a certain amount of interest, he said.
Mayer also pushed residents the Electronic Municipal Market Access, or EMMA, website to learn more about bonds, emma.msrb.org. To read the Barnegat Patch article in its entirety please click here.