Alternate methods of funding are available for the construction of a new justice center near the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
The Sweetwater County Commissioners heard a presentation from County Treasurer Robb Slaughter and representatives from George K. Baum and Company from Cheyenne. The company helped Sweetwater County School District No. 2 with its bonding for the Green River High School Aquatics Center.
The justice center will combine the county’s two circuit courts into one facility. The need comes from the circuit court in Rock Springs, located at the former county hospital building on C Street. Security problems involving inmate transportation and security, which often results in jail inmates standing in a high-traffic hallway awaiting their initial appearances in court.
Three options available to the county involve creating a joint powers board to lease revenue bonds, creating a statutory trust to issue certificates of participation to finance the center, or method called a bank direct purchase.
The joint powers board method would allow a board to issue revenue bonds to pay for the construction of the building, which could either own and operate the justice center or lease the building back to the county for operations.The advantage is the joint powers board can authorize a the issue of revenue bonds without an election and opens up new funding mechanisms not available to separate entities, but has disadvantages in that there is an annual appropriation risk with a renewable lease and new funding sources might not be available to a joint powers board.
Statutory trust certificates of participation allow the county commissioners to enter into a trust with a bank, which would issue and deliver certificates of participation that would provide funding for the justice center construction project. This method was utilized by the Natrona County Commissioners in 2014 to finance their justice center. While the certificates don’t require an election and does not need approval by the attorney general’s office, the same disadvantages with the joint powers board also apply.
Finally, with a direct bank purchase, George K. Baum would work with Slaughter to develop a term sheet regarding the proposed transaction, which would then be distributed to between 10 and 20 banks, including those located within the county. They would then compare the terms the banks would want to those offered through a public bond and those banks with proposals competitive to a public bond issue would further negotiate with George K. Baum. if completed, the process would also utilize a statutory trust for certificates of participation for funding for a direct purchase.
One thing the county cannot do is directly apply for a loan in an amount exceeding the revenues generated for the county. Barbara Bonds, an attorney working with George K. Baum, said the legislature did that to prevent governments from going into debt.
“The legislature don’t want elected officials to get a county into so much debt they can’t pay it,” she said.
Slaughter, speaking about his fears of what the future may bring to the county, said a prolonged downturn could impact county services and employees.
“What I’m afraid of, if we were to see a long term downturn ... we may not be able to (fund human services,)” he said.
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