West Windsor received the lowest interest rate in its history — under 3 percent — during a recent bond sale.
The township conducted an electronic bond sale on November 10 for a total of $14.03 million in bonds — $12.75 million for general improvement projects that the township approved in its 2008 and 2009 capital budgets, and $1.28 million in special assessment bonds for the Heatherfield sewer project. Seven registered bidders participated, and the township received 20 different bids.
The winning bidder was Southwest Securities, which provided a true interest cost of 2.98 percent, said Chief Financial Officer Joanne Louth. “It beat everyone’s estimate — we never thought we would break 3 percent.”
“We are estimating, based on our Triple A bond rating, that the sale saves the township $412,378,” added Louth. “We compared that to another community that sold within the same recent timeframe that had a Double A bond rating.”
In 2007, when the township sold $8.8 million in bonds in the same way, it received a 4 percent interest rate, “which was the best rate there was back then.”
