County Completes Courthouse Transaction

The refinancing of Fannin County’s Courthouse building is officially complete. On November 8th, The Fannin Board of Commissioners approved the refinancing of the Courthouse Building, a deal spearheaded by Merchant Capital L.L.C.

Prior to finalization of the deal, The Courthouse Building, including the jail and administrative offices, cost the County $9.8 million in existing debt. The reworking of the debt dropped the finance rate from 4.2 to 2.39, saving the County over half a million dollars. According to County Clerk Rita Kirby, the money will be used for day-to-day operations. But, perhaps more important, the money will be used to avoid budget cuts to departments and any more layoffs of County employees, according to Kirby; 18 employees were laid off from the Fannin County Road Department the week prior to the November 8th announcement.

In a correspondence with FYN this afternoon, Merchant Capitol Vice President Trey Monroe announced that the deal is complete. Monroe explained that seven banks were solicited and among the seven, Bank of America offered the lowest bid, with a rate of 2.39 percent. The deal will yield the County $675,905. The new rate of 2.39 percent is a fixed rate for the 10 year loan, where the final payment will close out on April 1, 2021.