The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved a measure involving general obligation bonds from Washington County Hospital and Clinics at their meeting Tuesday.

The resolution involved a refund of the existing bonds and reissue of new bonds at a lower interest rate to save both entities money. Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer explained to the board the circumstances surrounding the bonds and resolution, “Refunding the existing bonds and issuing new bonds. This is kind of a win-win situation for everyone involved, especially for the taxpayers of Washington County and folks at Washington County Hospital and Clinics. As a result of this refinancing, we are able to take advantage of an incredibly low interest rate. We are able to lock in a fixed, true interest cost for the hospital of 0.991%.”

The new interest rate of less than 1% will save more than $675,000 over the remaining life of the loan and lower the annual debt service payments to $80,000.

The initial bonds were issued in 2006 as revenue bonds for a $22 million construction project for WCHC that included building a new 60,000 square foot health care facility and renovating 28,000 square feet of existing space. The bonds were adapted to general obligation bonds by the Board of Supervisors in late 2015 and early 2016, at the time saving more than $6.4 million, and taking two years off the life of the loan.