09/04/2026
From the Mayor's Desk: "In the last newsletter, I wrote about the first stage of bringing development projects and economic deals to life in Huntington: recruitment and due diligence. This week, I want to continue with another important part of that process: how we pay for major investments in infrastructure and other City assets.
Debt is one of the most useful tools a city has. That may sound strange. We all know debt costs money.
So why borrow when we could save the money and pay cash? Because good financial management isn’t about avoiding debt at all costs. It’s about knowing what the debt costs, what we’re buying with it, when we need it, and what happens if we wait.
Huntington continues to be thoughtful about when and how we use debt. Our 2020 stormwater bonds, at an interest rate of just 1.7633%, are a good example.
That’s a very low borrowing cost. At the same time, inflation was driving up the cost of construction and materials. If we’d delayed construction simply to avoid borrowing, the projects could have cost much more. And the cash we had saved would have bought less.
In other words, we must be careful not to be penny wise and pound foolish. Avoiding debt may feel responsible. But if waiting means the same projects end up costing much more, we have not really saved money.
Another example is our 2022 wastewater bonds, which carried an interest rate of 2.95%. In this case, the City once again financed important infrastructure at a relatively low cost, allowing us to put that investment to work for our neighbors in Huntington.
Strategic use of debt isn’t limited to times with historically low interest rates. In 2025, Huntington used lease-rental bonds to help finance our new Flaxmill Road fire station. Those bonds carried a rate of 3.827%. But the question wasn’t whether we could find the same rate in 2025 as we received in 2020 and 2022. We couldn’t.
Instead, we asked if the fire station was needed, whether the investment made sense, and how best to finance it. We also factored in the City’s available resources, the useful life of the facility, and the cost of borrowing. After weighing all these factors, we moved forward on the project using a combination of City resources and bond proceeds.
That is what I mean by using debt strategically.
In 2020, we took advantage of exceptionally low borrowing costs. In 2022, we did it again. In 2025, we used debt as part of a larger financing plan for an important public safety investment. And even though rates were higher in 2025, historically speaking, they were still pretty darn low.
The goal is never to borrow money just because we can. The goal is to put our financial resources to work on things Huntington needs and will use for many years. These investments don’t just sit on the City’s balance sheet. Stormwater improvements help reduce the risk and cost of flooding for homeowners and businesses. A modern fire station and a strong fire protection system have a similar effect. Better Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings mean homeowners and businesses ultimately pay lower insurance costs.
Making life better for Huntington residents is an important part of the return on these investments. That return may be fewer flooded properties. It may be more reliable infrastructure that builds capacity for growth. It may be better fire protection. It may be lower insurance costs. Not every benefit shows up as a line item in the City’s budget. Often, it shows up indirectly in your budget at home.
There is another reason debt can make sense: The people who use a long-lasting asset should share in paying for it.
A stormwater system, wastewater system, fire station, road or other major piece of infrastructure can serve Huntington for decades. Financing that investment over time spreads the cost over the asset’s useful life, rather than asking today’s taxpayers to pay the entire bill.
But before we borrow, we need to know the rate, the repayment source, the useful life of the asset, the expected benefits and the risks. We need to know what the project will cost and what happens if our assumptions change. That is financial due diligence.
Good government is about getting the most value from every dollar Huntington has."
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