The Pella City Council received some good financial news at Tuesday’s meeting, which came in conjunction with the council’s approval of the sale of refunding bonds. The city refinanced approximately $6.2 million in city-owned debt and secured a significantly lower interest rate, which will save the city roughly $330,000 in interest costs.

“It was just nothing but good news,” said Pella City Administrator Mike Nardini. “We lowered the city’s interest rate, saved a bunch of money, and then we also – as the mayor and council love to do – retired some debt too. Overall it was just an extremely good night for us.”

The amount of the city’s debt retired early was approximately $1.3 million. Nardini says the city’s A2 credit rating through Moody’s investors service is particularly high given the current economy, and helped the city of Pella reduce interest rates from as high as 4.9 percent, down to around 1.9 percent.

Nardini added that the city is very fortunate to be where it is financially, and says the money saved by refinancing and the city’s strong credit rating come as good news during challenging times for many cities statewide.