The county’s Board of Education, however, is urging the council to instead raise the spending affordability guidelines.

Montgomery County is looking to lower its spending guidelines to reduce its growing debt-service payments, which this year are estimated to cost $394 million on $3.5 billion in bonded debt.

The debt service that Montgomery County is paying is growing at a rate that could affect the county’s AAA bond rating, according to County Executive Ike Leggett.

The County Council sets spending affordability guidelines every two years to determine what bonds the county can financially withstand to pay for long-term capital projects, such as school construction.

The current guidelines enable the county to issue $340 million in bonds per year.

In a memo to the council on Tuesday, Leggett wrote that that figure is too high...

http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2017/As-Debt-Service-Payments-Grow-County-Council-Looks-To-Limit-New-Capital-Bonds/