The county’s proposed sale of its bonds at a premium would ultimately bring in more revenue than area voters authorized in 2018 when they approved the two bond packages for the Alamance-Burlington school system and Alamance Community College, In fact, the ballot questions in that fall’s general election explicitly inquired about bonds “not exceeding” $39.6 million and $150 million for ACC and the school system respectively.
But the fact that a premium would leave each institution with more cash than the ballots had stipulated poses no legal obstacle, according to Brandon Lofton who serves as the bond counsel for Alamance County.
In response to an inquiry from The Alamance News, Lofton acknowledged that, while the ballot questions referred merely to “bonds” not to exceed the stated amounts, the bond orders which the commissioners have authorized state point blank that these limits apply to the “aggregate principal amount.”
“We are not issuing a principal amount of bonds in excess of these amounts,” the county’s bond counsel went on to elaborate in an email on Wednesday. “Any premium received does not increase the amount of bonds issued.”
