Washingtonville's Mayor, Tom DeVinko Announces $3M Bond Agreement-(VIDEO)
Finances are looking up in the Village of Washingtonville.
After negotiating with a handful of loan companies, Mayor DeVinko announced at Monday's end of August Village Board Meeting that the Village has gotten an agreement for $3M in bonds, to be paid over 10 years. The financing is at 7%, an interest rate they had hoped to negotiate lower, but he said "Thank God they approved it!". The new Village Administration has been working around a stack of unpaid bills and trying to pay them out of a shortfall budget because the previous administration had used almost 25% of before leaving office in 2022.
Asked by a resident what he plans to do with the money, DeVinko said, "Pay the bills". Asked how they can improve their credit rating, he again said "Pay the bills."
GOOD NEWS!
The $3M is expected to become available in mid-September. Other incoming monies will also brighten the financial outlook in the Village now that Reiger Homes is finishing up a new 17-home development. This brings them just about ready to pay a pocketfull of Parkland Fees which is required for each new home. There are several sources of grant monies expected as well, including a Millenium Grant and a Downtown Revitalization Funding from Senator Skoufis which had been approved previously but was never used.
Moving forward carefully, DeVinko said that with the bond payments spread over 10 years he expects the addition to taxes to be able to be held to a maximum of $250-$275 per household. With the aditional grant monies coming in they will also be able to cautiously move forward on a few necessary important projects, including replacement of a generator in the water and sewage processing area that has been leased for several years at $5,000 per month, and will pay for itself very quickly. He added that hopefully work can begin on developing Sewell Park as we move into Fall, including some plantings. and opening up a walk-through at the South end for parking. With the thought that FEMA floodplain prohibitions would cause a big problem in trying to put up a bandstand, they will consider starting with a more simple design similar to the concrete pad layout used in Goshen. Stay tuned for more news on Sewell Park in the coming weeks!