Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • November 5, 2014 Waldwick Town gets favorable interest rate on new bonds Sound fiscal practices have paid off for the Borough of Waldwick. The town was able to maintain its Aa2 bond rating from Moody’s and recently received a most favorable rate on its long-term financing. “We’re happy we were able to get the rate we did, with all that is going on in the world,” said Chief Financial Officer Mary Ann Viviani. “Let’s also be clear that we have not added any new debt. We have refinanced existing debt into fixed term bonds that help us manage our debt service and main- tain manageable payments throughout the term of the bond,” explained Councilman Don Sciolaro, the finance committee chair- man. The borough is converting $5,072,000 in bond anticipation notes into permanent financing and received a bid of 2 percent interest for the first nine years and 2 ½ percent for the last three. Robert W. Bard & Co.’s low bid translates into a net inter- est cost of $756,906 for the 12-year period, Viviani said. The other bidder, Union Bank of Switzerland (formerly Paine Webber), bid $785,100 for the 12 years. “Our bonding attorney said it is one of the best rates he’d seen this year,” Vivi- ani said. The bond will finance capital improvements and purchases accrued over the past six years, including street improve- ment projects, road repaving, the new fire truck, a recycling truck and a road sweeper as well as water utility projects. Of the total amount to be bonded, $564,000 is for the water utility. The borough follows a 12-year plan with six-year cycles to pay for its capi- tal projects. “I am thankful we can continue to invest in our community on behalf of all residents at the lowest possible interest rates,” said Sciolaro. “We are able to pave roads, main- tain our parks and buildings and purchase the equipment necessary to meet the needs of our community.” Last month the borough was unsuc- cessful in getting Moody’s to upgrade its rating. Sciolaro said that while Waldwick already enjoys a favorable credit rating and its financial situation is even better today than when the town received its last rating, it made sense to appeal for an even better rating. At a previous meeting, Viviani explained that the borough was in a good position to get a favorable rating because it has a stable tax base and has been follow- ing practices all along that Moody’s is now requiring of all municipalities. “Moody’s decision to keep our rating at the current level is based more upon the size of our community than any other factor,” Sciolaro explained. “They have determined that even communities with a healthy surplus and a stable tax base such as Waldwick can only achieve a Aa2 rating. Since we have very ambitious professionals in our administrator and CFO, they felt we deserved a better rating. While I applaud their effort and their vision, our current rating is outstanding, and I’m very proud of the work they’ve done over the years to get us to this level and to keep us there.” Scio- laro added. Chamber of commerce hosts business card exchange The Waldwick Chamber is making a concerted effort to take a piece of the pie on Thanksgiving weekend and is launching its Small Business Saturday program with a business card exchange and networking on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the Village Grille, 71 Crescent Avenue in Waldwick. Shop Small Business Saturday is being celebrated throughout the area on Saturday, Nov. 29. Local businesses are offering spe- cial promotions for goods and services to consumers, and many specials are extended through the month to entice them to “SHOP SMALL” – “SHOP LOCAL”. The program was launched by American Express in 2010 in an effort to bring attention to small busi- nesses in our local communities. In Waldwick, Pascack Community Bank at 64 Crescent Avenue, is hosting an open house that morning from 9 a.m. until noon, offering hot drinks and munchkins. The Ho-Ho-Kus and Midland Park chambers are also joining the effort and will be announc- ing their offers in the coming weeks. A business need not be a chamber of commerce member to participate. The fol- lowing businesses have already indicated their intention to take part with enticing offers.: • Generation III Plumbing & Heating, 30 West Prospect Street, Waldwick • Ho-Ho-Kus Minute Man Press, 19 Sheridan Ave, Ho-Ho-Kus • Home Hardware, 27 Franklin Turn- pike, Waldwick • Jersey Women Strong, LLC, www.jer- seywomenstrong.com • Mosaic-Glassworks, 36 Franklin Turn- pike, Waldwick • Plaza Jewelers, 10 E. Prospect Street, Waldwick • PRO Martial Arts, Hamilton Square, 140 Franklin Turnpike, Waldwick • Reebel Brain Body Wellness, 160 Hopper Avenue, Waldwick • Rohsler’s Allendale Nursery & Florist, 100 Franklin Turnpike, Allendale • Servpro of Northwest Bergen County, www.servpronorthwestbergen.com • SubUrban Vinyl, 4 Frederick St, Waldwick • Randi Levin, Life Coach, www.linke- din.com/in/randiclevin/ Information about participating mer- chants and their offers may be found on the chamber’s website, waldwickchamber. com, Facebook page and Instagram as well as through the Villadom Times and lastly, a soon to come Twitter Page for WCOC. The business kick-off event on Nov. 5 will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and is free for WCOC and ICC members. The cost for non-members is $15. Appetizers will be provided and there will be a cash bar. RSVP to info@waldwickchamber.com. According to the Second Annual Small Business Consumer Insights Survey cus- tomers spent an estimated $5.7 billion at small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday in 2013. Continue the trend: Shop, dine and choose the services of your local businesses on Nov. 29 and every day.