Great collegiate football team. Amazing local bands like R.E.M. Municipal bond problems.
Two out of the three are consistent national news stories, but the least likely, the municipal bonds, caught The Grey Lady’s attention on Wednesday.
The credit crisis caused Athens-Clarke County, Ga., to delay a $221 million bond issue planned for the day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The county has been planning for 10 years to upgrade three sewage treatment plants built more than 40 years ago when the population was much smaller.
The county’s finance director, John Culpepper, said he had delayed the issue rather than raise the monthly sewer bills to the system’s 39,000 customers.
“We’re going to wait it out for the next month or two, until the market returns to more normal conditions,” he said.
The credit crisis is affecting ACC in multiple ways: the construction industry is drying up; UGA is facing budget shortfalls and retirement package worries; I’m just not busy enough at work.
Luckily, like many other well-leveraged local banks, financial institutions in Athens feel secure.
Let’s hope the ACC economy keeps its collective head above water.
