Bond Refinancing Saves Village of Downers Grove $478,000

Bond refinancing has resulted in a $478,000 savings for the village of Downers Grove, officials announced Wednesday.

The village on Tuesday refinanced about $8.5 million in general obligation bonds issued in 2005 for the Downtown TIF District, resulting in the savings.

Downers Grove saves money by reducing the annual payments on the bonds due to interest rates that are lower now than when the bonds were issued. The bond refinancing will save the Downtown TIF Fund more than $80,000 per year in debt service payments, village officials said.

The village also announced Friday that it was upgraded to a AAA bond rating—the highest rating issued by Standard & Poor's (S&P).

READ: Downers Grove Bond Rating Improves to 'AAA'

"The rating reflects Downers Grove's strong economy which benefits from its location near Chicago, its strong budgetary flexibility, and adequate budgetary performance," the rating service said.

The refinancing of the 2005 bonds was also cited in the S&P report.

"We expected to save approximately $300,000," Village Manager Dave Fieldman said in a statement. "The savings were better than projected thanks to our AAA bond rating and high demand in the marketplace for the bonds based on Downers Grove's reputation for strong financial management."

In the first quarter of this year, the village completed the refinancing of library bonds, saving $132,000. In all, the village has saved $610,000 due to bond refinancing this year.