ike any business, Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) and the City of Norwich are always looking for ways to save money without compromising the quality of the service we provide. And just like most businesses, we need to borrow money from time to time in order to make important and prudent investments that can be paid for over a number of years.

Recently, the City of Norwich completed the sale of $6.74 million in General Obligation Bonds to fund a variety of projects throughout the city over the next several years.

The bonds were sold in two series: $5.6 million in tax exempt municipal bonds, which were sold with an interest rate of 2.51%, and $1.14 million in taxable municipal bonds, which were sold with an interest rate of 2.49%.

Securing very competitive interest rates shows that the financial strength and sound budgeting of the City of Norwich make our city attractive to the investment community.

For comparison, recent bond offerings by similarly-rated cities, towns and regional school districts were sold at or near 3%. By selling its bonds at lower rates, the City of Norwich’s taxpayers could realize savings of approximately $300,000 on $6.74 million bond issuances over the life of the bonds.

The proceeds of these bond sales will be used to finance a number of city projects, including: bridges on New London Turnpike and Pleasant Street, improvements at Dodd Stadium, numerous city infrastructure upgrades, demolition of structures at 77 Chestnut and 26 Shipping Streets, Downtown revitalization efforts, renovations and expansion at Kelly Middle School, and gas expansion work by Norwich Public Utilities.