RALEIGH — At its July 11 meeting, the N.C. Local Government Commission (LGC) approved issuance of $178 million in general obligation bonds aimed at building more schools in order to address the overcrowding issue in the Pender County Public Schools district.
According to a press release by the State Treasurer’s office, Pender County has been “cited as the third-fastest growing county” in the state and “has struggled with crowded schools as a result.” U.S. Census data for Pender County, the press release says the area has “experienced a 26% population increase from 2010 through June 2022,” and that at least six schools in the county are overcapacity.
The debt on the general obligation bond will be paid for through a 9.25-cent increase on property taxes. The tax rate will be raised to 73.75 cents for every $100 in property value. The increase was approved by over half of Pender County voters last November.
The LGC also approved housing agencies in Asheville and Hickory to issue conduit revenue bonds to provide refurbished apartments to low-income residents.
The Asheville Housing Authority financing total is $15.6 million and the Hickory Housing Authority total is $12 million. Hickory will loan its funds to Hilltop NC to acquire and fix up a 106-unit, multi-family residential rental facility.
Other items approved by the LGC include:
- Johnston County – $85 million in revenue bonds to upgrade the Timothy G. Broome Water Treatment Plant.
- City of Gastonia – $42 million in revenue bonds to complete various improvements along the city’s water and sanitary sewer systems, and to build a new wastewater pump station.
- Town of Statesville – $12 million to build a 26,000-square-foot fire station.
- Nash County – $6.2 million to build two shell buildings.
- Transylvania County – $5.5 million to build, equip and furnish an Emergency Medical Services base station with six bays and room for training and storage.
- Town of Mills River – $2.4 million to buy a 34-acre parcel adjacent to the existing town complex for future expansion.
The LGC is chaired by State Treasurer Dale Folwell and is staffed by his department. The commission is tasked statutorily with approving most debt issued by units of local government and public authorities and monitoring the financial well-being of more than 1,100 local government units.
