Houghton City Council meeting recap

The Houghton City Council received some really good financial news at their regular meeting.

Things are looking good on the financial front in the city of Houghton.

Standard and Poor’s recently gave the city an A+ bond rating.

The city went through a bond rating procedure as they tried to refinance a number of the city’s bonds.

Three of those items were successful involving two water bonds and one for the library.

The total refunding amount was about $5.6 million at a 3.67% interest rate with a savings of about $306,000.

The previous interest rates were 4.5% and 4.125%.

The A+ bond rating for the city is locked in for two years.

The city council also voted to adopt the 2013-14 budget for the upcoming year.

The only major change from last year is a three percent increase in the water rate that had been expected.

The new rate will take affect with the July 2013 billing.