The refunding wonât extend the life of the loans, Beasley said. In fact, the city should be able to pay some of the bonds off sooner than it would have taken under the previous terms.
And it would save millions of dollars in payments in coming years â about $3.9 million from the general fund, $1 million for water and sewer, and $20 million for the TDZ bonds, Beasley said.
The Tourism Development Zone is the area surrounding the LeConte Events Center. Under state law, the city was allowed to collect additional sales tax revenues in that area and use them to pay off projects aimed at drawing more tourists to the area.