Bond Issue

Baltimore County Executive Roger B. Hayden has added more than $2.5 million to his proposed capital budget to renovate or help replace the 67-year-old Essex Elementary School.If the school board decides to renovate the decrepit building, the money will be used to get work under way quickly. If replacement is needed, the money would go toward a new building."It takes my breath away," Essex Principal Jean Satterfield said when informed about the decision Mr. Hayden is to announce Thursday as part of his budget presentation.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz wants to borrow $255 million and repay it over the next 30 years to help fund the county's retirement system, a move that would carry risk but that the administration says could benefit taxpayers in the long run. County Administrative Officer Fred Homan told the County Council at a briefing Tuesday that the administration would introduce legislation next week to allow the county to issue pension obligation bonds....

Ferris, Baker Watts Inc., a Baltimore-area investment company, bought $19.6 million in Carroll County bonds Tuesday at an interest rate of 5.7 percent, the county comptroller said."

With a Band-Aid to ease school crowding about to be peeled off the books, a majority of the Baltimore County Council is calling for broader, long-term relief to ensure development doesn't overrun schools.And their push for change points up a rare schism with County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III, who sees no need for a replacement to the 6-year-old building moratorium that is set to expire Nov. 1.But council members say they support broader measures than the makeshift moratorium, which limits homebuilding only around crowded elementary schools and was never envisioned as a cure-all.

A jilted bidder is objecting to casino operator Penn National Gaming's $10.25 million purchase of bankrupt Rosecroft Raceway, arguing it had the higher and better offer at last week's auction. Landow Partners, whose principals include former state Democratic Party Chairman Nathan Landow, said the trustee overseeing Rosecroft's bankruptcy "did not exercise the appropriate business judgment and failed to obtain the maximum value" for the Prince George's County harness track, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

BUSINESSES IN THE downtown special benefits district are complaining that center city looks seedy. They may be right, but a proposal to allow the Downtown Partnership, which manages the district, to borrow a million dollars or more for a needed facelift must be studied carefully.Laurie B. Schwartz, president of Downtown Partnership, says center city businesses are complaining about cracked sidewalks, crumbling curbs, unpainted crosswalks and broken benches. They want the district to have the power to borrow money to develop and implement a streetscape plan that would include new landscaping, sidewalk treatments, banners and other elements to give pedestrians a greater sense of being in a special place.

25 years ago: "Mt. Airy Citizens to Vote Monday on Water System Bond Issue" -- Voters in Mt. Airy will decide on Monday, Jan. 5, whether the town will borrow $210,000 through a bond issue to improve its water system. If approved the town will open the bond for bidding at no higher than 6.5 percent interest to be paid over 15 years. Funds for the bond will come primarily from water and sewer hookup fees which now amount to $1,300 per unit. The bond will pay for the attachment of a new well to the town system and for additions to the distribution system.

Of the 10 bond issues on the 1990 ballot in Baltimore County, only one was rejected by voters. It was a $2.6 million ordinance that would have funded the construction of affordable housing in the county.The result was hardly an upset. In fact, it followed a pattern in Baltimore County history. The mere mention of low-cost housing has given certain county residents the willies since at least the mid-1960s. That was when then-County Executive Spiro T. Agnew was advocating urban renewal, a concept that wary white citizens associated with housing for blacks and other minorities.

City aids 2 firms' relocationTwo companies will get city funds to assist with relocation and expansion in Baltimore, Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic growth agency, announced yesterday.Osiris Therapeutics Inc., which is preparing to move its biotechnology operations to Baltimore from Cleveland, will receive a $200,000 city investment in the firm's preferred stock, as part of an investment plan approved by the city Board of Estimates.The investment is part of an assistance package that also includes a $3 million insured bond issue, a state investment of $250,000 in the firm's preferred stock, a state contribution of $150,000 to help renovate space in the SAGA building at Fells Point and a city cash reserve of $250,000 to support the bond issue.

Baltimore County sold $256 million in pension obligation bonds this week to fund its retirement system, and officials say the borrowing will cost less than they expected. The county borrowed the money at a 3.43 percent interest rate, compared with the 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent originally projected. Officials said Thursday they expect to save $343 million over the next three decades, compared with the $250 million they previously estimated. The county plans to pay the funds back over the next 30 years.