De Pere. Tomah. Superior. Sheboygan County. La Crosse School District. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. What do these entities have in common?
They and dozens of other Wisconsin cities, counties, villages, towns, school districts, and technical college districts, along with the state, will save approximately $29 million through the Build America Bonds program.
Build America Bonds, part of the federal economic stimulus plan, are aimed at helping state and local units of government finance capital expenditures. The federal government provides a subsidy of 35 percent of the interest costs on these taxable governmental bonds, decreasing borrowing costs. Governmental entities can use the bonds to finance building projects that might otherwise be unaffordable, thereby putting people to work and saving money at the same time.
Through the end of May 2010, issuers in the state of Wisconsin have issued $1.32 billion in Build America Bonds in 95 separate issues, for improvements to sewer and utility facilities, telecommunication infrastructure, highways, and other projects. (Here’s a link to the U.S. Treasury Report with more details.)
Since the program was launched in April 2009, $106 billion in Build America Bonds has been issued nationally. The program is currently set to expire at the end of 2010, although the Obama administration has proposed making the program permanent with a reduced subsidy rate of 28 percent.
