Jessica Foster
Staff Writer

Last week, the Forest Lake City Council had reason to smile. The city again received an A1 rating from Moodyís Investment Services on its $11.77 million in outstanding parity debt and saved nearly a half million dollars by selling bonds.

John Sander of Northland Financial Services told the council via a bond sale the city was able to save $445,000 in interest over the next 20 years, the bulk of the savings coming in the next five years.

ìI think it was a great bond sale and great savings to our city,î Sander said.

Mayor Terry Smith said he was pleased with the development.

ìItís always good to save money,î he said.

The report by Moodyís Investments read: ìThe cityís financial operations, following consolidation with the town in September 2000, have been consistently strong over the last three years.î

Like Smith, Forest Lake City Administrator Chip Robinson too said he was pleased with the report.

ìI was happy to maintain our A1 rating,î he said ìWeíre always looking for ways to save money and by refinancing weíve saved $445,000óanytime we can do that itís a good thing.î

The report continued to say the city has ìhealthy financial operations supported by healthy General Fund reserves, a growing economic base and manageable debt profile.î

ìThey believe the annexation actually made the community stronger financially,î Robinson added.

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Forest Lake Times
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