OLYMPIA – This week, the Office of the State Treasurer (OST) provided access to over $30 million in low-interest financing to state and local government partners through a sale of Certificates of Participation (COPs). Using the state’s strong credit ratings to keep interest costs at a minimum, the sale of the COPs will provide local municipalities and state agencies with funds needed to make purchases and pay for construction projects.
Participants in this week’s financing include two colleges and three state agencies, including the Department of Social and Health Services, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Enterprise Services, which makes purchases on behalf of multiple agencies, along with seven local municipal districts. The local portion of the sale will help four fire districts, two school districts, and the Port of Port Angeles in Clallam County obtain financing at favorable interest rates.
“Amid economic uncertainty and tightening budgets, it is essential that state and local governments partner to find ways to reduce costs while continuing to deliver needed projects and equipment,” said State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti. “By leveraging our state’s strong financial position, we can help communities across Washington make projects a reality together when going it alone would have been much more costly. Our office prides itself on these types of partnerships that make a very real difference for local governments and agencies of every size.”
Three times a year OST pools financing requests from state agencies and local governments into the publicly sold COPs. This allows state agencies, as well as local partners in OST’s Local Option Capital Asset Lending Program (LOCAL Program) to acquire equipment and real estate under the umbrella of the state’s credit. This process leverages Washington’s strong ratings to help local governments secure financing at the lowest available interest rates – ultimately reducing costs and saving taxpayer dollars.
Port of Port Angeles will finance $53,121 for the purchase of a 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro. In March, the Port also partnered with OST to obtain $520,302 in financing for a 2024 DX380LL-5 Develon Log Loader. Treasurer Pellicciotti recently traveled to Clallam County to meet with Executive Director of the Port of Port Angeles Paul Jarkiewicz and discuss economic shifts at the local and federal levels.
“Partnering with the State Treasurer’s Office will allow us to keep interest payments low so we can reliably pay for our new equipment over several years,” said Executive Director Jarkiewicz. “The Treasurer’s LOCAL Program is certainly helpful in reducing costs as we look ahead at increasing productivity and strengthening our economic impact on Clallam County and the state of Washington.”
As a primary economic driver in Clallam County, the Port of Port Angeles manages and makes capital investments in four lines of business: marine facilities, marinas, airports, and industrial properties. These businesses include five viable marine terminals, two airports, two marinas, three industrial business parks, and several other industrial and commercial properties.
In addition to Port of Port Angeles, this week’s sale of COPs also helped finance a significant portion of the construction costs for a new apparatus bay in Walla Walla County Fire Protection District 8, and the purchase of a new school bus for the Clarkston School District in Asotin County and the Green Mountain School District in Clark County.
Other examples of purchases financed this week include the installation of station ventilation and air compression systems at West Benton Regional Fire Authority, emergency response vehicles for Jefferson County Fire Protection District 1, and firefighting protective gear for Spokane County Fire Protection District 9.
This was the state’s third COP issuance in Fiscal Year 2025. The program financed $112,830,000 of equipment and real estate purchases during the previous fiscal year.