Lee County plans to set aside public-safety sales-tax funds to meet $1.8M balloon payment in 2029

Reed detailed the county’s two bond series tied to public‑safety sales‑tax proceeds. One series has a balloon maturity with a payment due March 1, 2029, of about $1.8 million. “That is the one with the maturity in March of 2029. It will be a little over 1.8 million that we'll have to pay,” he said.

He said the other bond series has regular maturities and will be paid off by 2036. Reed told the committee he plans to reserve excess public‑safety tax revenue over the coming years so the county can cover a large portion of the balloon without refinancing; he warned refinancing now could raise interest costs because current market rates are higher than the county’s original low rates.