The Town of East Hampton has made the final payment on the $21.2 million deficit financing bond issued in 2011.
The money was borrowed 10 years ago, with permission of the New York State Legislature, to address a financial shortfall due to fiscal mismanagement. The final $162,700 payment on the bond was issued this week.
“Strict financial oversight, including the implementation of rigorous budgetary controls and procedures, and conservative budgeting by successive town administrations since 2011, have enabled the town to achieve the highest Moody’s Investors Service credit rating possible, while paying off the deficit financing bond and systematically retiring more debt than is taken on each year," according to a statement issued by Town Hall on Monday. The town has maintained a Aaa credit rating since 2017.
Len Bernard, the town’s budget officer, said in the statement that the final bond payment “is the culmination of an extraordinary effort on the part of the town and its staff over three different administrations to restore the town’s financial well-being.”
Last month, Mr. Bernard told the town board that March 15 would be “a significant day.” With the final payment, he said, the money borrowed to address the 2007-8 general fund deficit would be repaid in full, while the town would enjoy a $45 million surplus across its major funds.
The budget officer, who will retire in July, was a member of the town board from 1996 to 1999. He served as budget officer under Supervisor Jay Schneiderman from 2000 to 2003, and returned to the town in 2010, working under Supervisors Bill Wilkinson, Larry Cantwell, and, since 2018, Peter Van Scoyoc. “It’s been a pretty good run since 2010,” he told the board last month. “I think the town is in a really good place financially. That needs to be protected and carefully monitored as we all move forward.”
“Our strong financial position as evidenced by our past four consecutive years of a Aaa bond rating coupled with significant fund balances have allowed us to weather the financial challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said in the statement issued on Monday. “With ongoing conservative budgeting and oversight, we will be able to continue meeting community needs, and plan for needed infrastructure improvement and capital projects, which can be financed at lower cost due to our positive credit rating.”
