City Granted Approval to Restructure Payments

QUINCY -- Mayor Thomas Koch announced that the City won permission from state authorities to re-finance payments on the $126 million new High School project in a move officials believe will ease a previously anticipated spike in debt payments on the project.

Financing was set to come due over the course of the next several years, which would have required multi-million dollar increases in annual debt payments.

The refinancing, approved in part because of the City's stable financial condition, will extend the financing plan for the high school from 20 to 30 years under the plan approved by state authorities, Koch said.

With payments spread over a longer period, the spikes in debt payments over the course of the next several years will be eased, officials said.

"We are continuously looking for ways to work through these historic times, and a 30-year mortgage for this project makes a lot of sense," Koch said. "We worked very hard to save money and cut costs on the project since taking office, and this is one more step toward making it as efficient as possible."

The City is responsible for $54 million of the $126 million cost of the project, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority reimbursing the City for the remainder.

The City also received a favorable interest rate on a short-term borrowing package for previously approved projects that will help further ease the City's debt payments, Koch said.

The positive financial news comes as the City is beginning its plans to build the long-awaited new Central Middle School.

"Everything we do now to improve our financial condition will help us as we move forward on Central," Koch said.