The Columbus City Council has unanimously approved a resolution to recognize that the owner of a Columbus apartment complex is seeking to refinance.
Members voted 8-0 on the resolution, Council Member Chris Bartels, R-District 1, was absent.
The owner of Arbors at Water’s Edge is preparing to refinance the apartment complex located on the north side of Columbus — the council was required to hold a public hearing to comply with provisions in the Internal Revenue Service Code.
Council President Frank Miller said although all that was required was a public hearing, the council opted to vote on a resolution as well to make it clear they were abiding by the IRS requirements.
In 1982, Congress passed the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) “which was designed to reduce the federal budget by raising taxes, cutting spending, and eliminating some tax loopholes,” according to a memo Director of Community Development Robin Hilber wrote to council members. What council passed was referred to as a TEFRA resolution.
“This is done solely for the purposes of Section 157(f) of the tax code, bonds will only be held for revenues in the project and the city, county, and state will not be liable in any way,” Hilber told the council.
The refinancing involves up to $17 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds, according to a public notice. No new units are being built, and ownership is not changing, city officials said.
The Public Finance Authority of Wisconsin will issue the revenue bonds with proceeds being linked to RC Arbors LLC, which owns the 152-unit apartment complex located at 4060 N. County Road 150W.
“Why would some governmental entities in Wisconsin get together and decide we’re going to issue bonds across the nation?” Council Member Kent Anderson, R-District 5, asked.
“Fees, frankly,” said Tyler Kalachnik with the law firm Ice Miller. “It’s helpful for a lot of 501c3s that do multi-site projects where they would have to get multiple issuers and coordinate that effort, so it does give one-stop-shopping if you have a portfolio of properties.”
