Project in full design stage; College may avoid County taxpayer scrutiny and approval by using Revenue bond scheme for portion of construction
Yavapai Community College is moving forward with its plans to construct a Health Sciences Building at its Prescott Valley Center. Estimates place the total cost of such a facility, including a potential third-floor auditorium of sorts, at around $39 million.
The Community College executives and District Board members have available to them a scheme to fund portions of the building without relying on taxpayer funds or grants. This scheme involves creating what are called “revenue bonds” to finance a portion of the project. Since revenue bonds are not directly repaid with tax dollars, the Community College can legally do this. The scheme has been used in other Yavapai Community College projects such as the renovation of the Prescott Campus residence halls.
To repay the revenue bonds over an extended period, the Community College must take funds only from tuition and other income producing sources, excluding property taxes. However, to replenish the funds drawn from these sources, it may, and most likely will, necessitate an increase in the County property tax rate, a decision requiring only three votes from the five-member District Governing Board. The public cannot block the tax rate increase once a majority on the Board approves it.
As a consequence, taxpayers may end up ultimately indirectly repaying the Community College for the cash used to pay for the revenue bonds via the increased tax rate. Overall, this strategy serves to mitigate potential significant challenges from the community for a project of this scale. It is another tool in the obfuscation toolbox of the College and the Governing Board that often keeps valuable information well hidden from public view and prevents serious public scrutiny from ever occurring.
Note: The following information as shown below was obtained from the Yavapai Community College Facilities Management newsletter of December, 2023.
