Will County Saves $5.7 Million in Bond Refinancing, Maintains High Credit Ratings

Will County Finance Committee Meeting | November 2025

Article Summary: A recent bond transaction successfully saved Will County over $5.7 million in future debt payments, while a presentation from the county’s financial advisor confirmed its strong financial position and high credit ratings. The refinancing deal involved a complex combination of refunding older bonds and buying back others from investors at a discount.

Will County Debt Update Key Points:

• The county’s October 2025 bond transaction generated a total of $5,739,302 in savings.

• The transaction involved refinancing bonds from 2015, 2016, and a portion of the 2020 series.

• Will County’s total outstanding debt is approximately $291 million.

• The county maintains high credit ratings of Aa1 from Moody’s and AA+ from Standard and Poor’s, just one notch below the highest possible rating.

Will County will save more than $5.7 million in future debt payments thanks to a successful bond transaction completed in October, the county’s financial advisor reported on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. During a presentation to the Finance Committee, Anthony Miceli of Speer Financial, Inc. detailed the results of the complex refinancing and provided an overview of the county’s strong financial health and borrowing capacity.

The savings came from the issuance of the 2025A and 2025B refunding bonds on October 15. The new bonds were used to refinance outstanding debt from the county’s 2015 and 2016 series to take advantage of more favorable interest rates.

A significant portion of the savings resulted from a two-part refinancing of the county’s 2020 bonds. The deal included a “tender offer,” where the county bought back $34.5 million worth of bonds directly from investors at a discount. An additional $33 million of the 2020 bonds were refinanced through an advance refunding. Miceli explained that this maneuver was particularly successful, creating about $4 million in savings on its own.

“It ended up being very successful,” Miceli said, noting that tender offers are uncommon and require special market conditions to work. He also highlighted that the 2020 bonds, which were originally issued to refinance older debt, have now generated a cumulative savings of over $24.3 million for the county across both transactions.

Miceli also presented a snapshot of the county’s overall financial profile, confirming its total outstanding debt stands at just over $291 million. He reaffirmed the county’s high credit ratings: Aa1 from Moody’s Investors Service and AA+ from Standard and Poor’s.

“They’re both one notch off of a perfect AAA rating,” Miceli noted. He cited the county’s strong financial management, healthy reserve levels, stable operating performance, and low debt burden as key factors supporting the high ratings.

However, he cautioned about factors that could lead to a downgrade, including a significant drop in the county’s financial reserves. Moody’s has indicated that a fund balance approaching 30% of annual revenue could create “downward pressure” on the rating; the county’s current reserve level is approximately 50%.

The presentation concluded with scenarios for future capital borrowing. Based on retiring debt and maintaining a level debt service payment of around $25 million annually, the county could have the capacity to borrow between $104 million and $142 million for new capital projects between 2027 and 2030.