A successful bid auction held on Jan. 20 brought $18.15 million in general obligation bond sales for the City of Lake Forest to help fund its new police station
“The debt service for these bonds will be paid for by property taxes. And as you all know, we increased the property tax levy last year by 500,000 and this year again, and it will be phased in fully in the 2026 tax levy,” Finance Director Katie Skibbe told the council, according to a meeting video.
According to Skibbe, it was a very competitive bid process conducted online through Spears Financials. Twelve bidders submitted 51 bids. Spears Financial noted that it was the most active bidding process the company had seen since 2024.
Skibbe said that Hilltop Securities emerged as the low bidder with a true interest cost of 3.263%, which was lower than the city had projected. The modeled rate was 3.57%. She added that this reduction in interest rates decreased the overall debt service by $651,000.
The city’s last bond issuance in 2023 occurred under different rate conditions, Skibbe said. At that time, Lake Forest secured a 2.73% rate for its 10-year bonds; however, in 2026 they have sold 15-year bonds. Skibbe noted that given the current rate environment, higher payments were anticipated.
