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Memorandum In 2004, the voters of Indian River County approved a referendum to continue the county's land conservation program and issue an additional $50 million for land acquisition. Historic and agricultural lands were added to the approved purchases under this referendum, whereas the initial 1992 bond referendum only authorized acquisition of environmental lands. In June 2006, Indian River County issued the 2006 Series Limited General Obligation Bonds in the principal amount of $48,600,000 at an average interest rate of 4.22% (true interest cost) for land conservation. On February 17, 2015 the Board of County Commissioners approved refunding the bonds using a bank loan in order to save approximately $1.1 million dollars, or 6.05% of the refunded amount. The bank loan provided a lower borrowing cost at 1.84%, reduced the annual debt service by $170,000, and allowed for a modest reduction in the ad valorem millage rate. On May 12, 2020, the Board of County Commissioners approved the early payoff of the outstanding principal totaling $2,970,000. The early payoff of this debt removed the need to levy a millage to fund the remaining year of debt service, thus creating a reduction in taxes paid by Indian River taxpayers. Florida History of Conservation Finance The State of Florida authorizes local communities to use various revenue sources for parks and recreation purposes including property taxes, sales and use taxes, general obligation bonds, and the creation of special districts. Voters approved 82 percent of local conservation finance measures (75 of 92) on the ballot in Florida between 1996 and 2019. General obligation Local Conservation Finance Mechanisms in Florida Summary of local ballot measures from 1996 - 2020 Mechanism Passed Failed Total Passed Bond 52 7 59 88% Sales Tax 14 8 22 64% Property Tax 11 2 13 85% Other* 2 0 2 100% Total 79 17 96 82% Budget allocations Source: TPL LandVote Database measures that include $ for land conservation. bonds are the most popular public finance mechanism in Florida for parks and conservation. The table above illustrates the number and type of conservation finance measures that have gone before voters over the past 24 years. For recent park and land conservation measures on the ballot in Florida, the passage rate is 82 percent. Five of the six city and county park and land conservation measures on the ballot in 2018 were approved. Four county land conservation ballot measures were approved in November 2020: Collier County (renewal of a 0.25 mill property tax), Manatee County (a 0.15 mill ad valorem tax and issue general obligation bonds), and two measures in Volusia County (a 20 - year, 1/5th mill levy for the continuation of Volusia Echo, and a 20 -year, 1/5th mill levy for the continuation of the Volusia Forever). General Obligation Bonds Florida counties and municipalities are authorized to issue debt for capital projects including parks and open space in the form of general obligation bonds.2 The state statutes do not place specific limits on the amount of debt that can be incurred by a community, but do limit the duration of the bonds to a period not exceeding 40 years. When bonds have been issued, the P Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 12(a) and Florida Statutes, Section 125.013. 6