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<br />3 <br /> <br />in the market. Everyone said it was high, and as we move into <br />1980 it would get better, and everything I read about it in the <br />WALL STREET JOURNAL and BOND BUYER and places we (inaudible). <br />The fact of the matter is that since last August when the Bond <br />Buyer's Index - which are 20-year bonds of "A" rated or <br />better was at 6.23. In October it was 7.18: in November, a <br />7.38, and it fluctuated through that area all during the later <br />part of October, November and December. As we moved into <br />January - and those of you who follow prime interest rates and <br />what have you - it jumped from January 24 to February to 7.71, <br />and the following week 7.75. February 23 it was 8.26 and last <br />Thursday at 8.94. That means (inaudible) problems that the <br />interest rates are (inaudible) higher than we have had before <br />plus we're bound by the ceiling of interest rates that <br />municipalities can pay. Our bond code limits us to 7%, except for <br />industrial revenue bonds or hospital bonds, and the assessment <br />charges that we can charge people for unpaid assessments has been <br />limited to 8%. <br /> <br />In the last two or three months there have been <br />communities that have been unable to sell their bonds, so all <br />improvements will have to be conditioned on financing whether <br />you do it internally or depend on bond issues. <br /> <br />We have sold in the past over a 20-year period if the <br />market so indicated, or temporary improvement bonds for a three <br />year period. Hopefully the people can prepay as much as they <br />can, and we then sell definitive bonds. Between the two we have <br />been able to get by over the last number of years. <br /> <br />Since October, many communities have not been able to sell <br />even three-year paper. In other words, the 7% was not <br />attractive enough. The Minneapolis School District wanted to <br />sell a $28 million issue last week. They normally would have <br />gotten less than 7%, but they took it off the market. St. Paul <br />had a 20-year issue a week ago and got no bids, which means the <br />interest rates would have to be over 7%. In those communities in <br />Wisconsin where there is no limit, the normal 20-year bonds are <br />going to 9% to ten-and-a-half percent which is a very high <br />interest rate, but looking at it over a normal view, it's <br />competitive today. <br /> <br />The prime rate is in the upper 17% range. Last Monday <br />60-dayC/D's at the First National Bank were sixteen-and-a-half <br />percent. Today I had a school district business manager in, <br />and they were investing at seventeen-and-a-quarter on six-month <br />C/D's. The banks are paying the 17% out (inaudible) so while <br />we may go ahead and discuss the improvements, most communities <br />now will not award the construction bids. They will take the <br />bids but will have them hold firm for 60 days or so, and at that <br />time we determine whether we can sell the bonds or how we can <br />finance the improvements. Even if you order the improvements <br />tonight, we will still have to get construction bids and then <br />determine if we can do the financing. <br />