On August 14, 2008, our firm acted as bond and underwriter’s counsel on the refunding of $24,270,000 of Water and Sewer Revenue Bonds for the Macon Water Authority. The refunding bonds were used to refinance outstanding debt of the Authority and will save the Authority over $1 million over the life of the debt.

On September 4, 2008, Jim Pannell and Jon Pannell spoke at the Annual Institute for City and County Attorneys in Athens, Georgia. Their presentation, “Development Districts - IDDs, CIDs, and TADs” covered an overview of creating and financing bonds through the use of Infrastructure Development Districts, Community Improvement Districts, and Tax Allocation Districts in the State of Georgia. Copies of the presentation are available by contacting our office.

On August 7, 2008, Gray and Pannell LLP closed a $20,000,000 bond issue for the Bryan County School District. Jim Pannell and Jon Pannell served as bond counsel on the financing. The bonds will be repaid from revenues raised by the county’s 1% educational sales and use tax (ESPLOST). Proceeds of the bond issue will be used for capital improvements throughout the school district including the construction of a new middle school in Bryan County.