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Tompkins County’s strong financial reputation paid off again today, as the County sold $6.5 million dollars in one-year bond anticipation notes at an unprecedented note rate cost of only .73 percent.

The $6.5 million in notes sold today support renovations to the County’s new Health Department building at 55 Brown Road.

“We were totally surprised by the result,” says County Finance Director David Squires. “In my 15 years with Tompkins County, we have never achieved a rate of below 1 percent for comparable funding.  We had hoped to see a result somewhere in the 1 percent range, but I never anticipated a rate of less than 1 percent.”

DEPFA First Albany Securities LLC was the lowest of five bidders, with its effective net interest rate of .729923 percent.  Bids received ranged from that level to 2.5 percent.

A month ago, Tompkins County sold $11.1 million in one-year bond anticipation note renewals for an effective interest cost of 1.14 percent, a rate that was among the lowest received for such municipal notes in New York State during 2008.

Tompkins County’s municipal bond rating is “Aa2”, as determined by Moody’s Investor Service.  Such ratings are based upon analysis of four primary factors related to municipal finance:  economy, debt, finances, and administration/management strategies.  An “Aa” rating, as defined by Moody’s, reflects “very strong creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.”  Tompkins County’s bond rating is among the highest in New York State.

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