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the General Obligation bond; let the voters decide, and if that passes, then we would issue the <br />Bonds, which carry lower interest costs due to higher security ratings. The City Attorney also <br />recommended G.O. debt for legal purposes. <br />Director Brown then presented staff's recommendation, "to authorize a countywide <br />referendum to be placed on the ballot for General Obligation Bonds in the amount of $40 million <br />to finance the Piper incentive package." <br />Commissioner Davis thought they were putting a lot of effort on something Piper does not <br />want. He wanted to see a plan where they could approve this with a 4-1 super majority vote <br />without going to a referendum <br />The Panel discussed going to a referendum, and the need to approach the State for help <br />with funding to entice Piper to stay here. They also discussed the proposed offer and any other <br />alternatives/options they could pursue. <br />Commissioner Bowden thanked everyone on the negotiating team, believing they went <br />above and beyond the call of duty. She thought time was of the essence and the package on the <br />table, to go to referendum with the Obligation Bonds, was the best option they had. <br />Commissioner Davis wondered if it would be better to approach Piper with what they <br />currently have instead of going to voter referendum. <br />City Manager Jim Gabbard assured members of the Panel that the State was aware of the <br />County's offer and its financial situation because of talks he had with State representatives. He <br />advised that Piper said they want an additional $10 million and an additional $850,000 in <br />concessions for utilities and to help offset insurance costs, and stated that those two items would <br />have to come out of General Funds which City and County could not do based on their financial <br />June 21, 2007 4 <br />Joint Meeting/City of Vero Beach re Piper Aircraft <br />