Rio Rancho council approves $18 million improvement bond package; city says no tax increase

The Rio Rancho governing body voted to approve Ordinance O6, authorizing the issuance and sale of up to $18,000,000 in tax-exempt general obligation improvement bonds.

City Financial Services Director Miss Yarbrough told the council during the ordinance's second reading that the bond proceeds would be split roughly $12.4 million for road projects, $4.4 million for public safety facilities, equipment and apparatuses, and $1.2 million for quality-of-life facilities. She said the sale would be structured with 20-year maturities and staff expected interest rates in the neighborhood of 3.84 percent to 4.19 percent based on municipal benchmarks.

"The voters approved the bonds in an amount of $18,000,000; these bonds do not result in a tax increase to citizens of Rio Rancho," Miss Yarbrough said during her presentation.

After brief procedural formalities and no public speakers on the item, a council motion to approve O6 was made and seconded. The clerk called the roll and recorded affirmative votes from the councilors present and Mayor Weimer; the ordinance was approved.

The director told council the sale window would likely occur between June 24 and June 26, and that the mayor, city manager and financial services director would be delegated authority to set final terms of sale, maturity dates and interest rates in an award certificate. No additional details about exact pricing or final purchaser were presented at the meeting.

The approval comes as part of the city's capital-finance planning; councilors asked procedural questions but expressed no objections during the roll call. The bond ordinance will be executed by city staff consistent with the award certificate provisions the governing body authorized.

Votes at a glance
O6 (ordinance authorizing $18,000,000 G.O. improvement bonds): Approved on roll call; recorded affirmative votes from the attending councilors and mayor.

Next steps: Staff will finalize sale timing and pricing; the mayor, city manager and financial services director were delegated authority to execute the final award certificate.