As expected Martin County will now file suit against the FDFC.
Per The Palm Beach Post:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/martin-county-to-challenge-fdfcs-approval-of-all-a/nnM23/ (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/martin-county-to-challenge-fdfcs-approval-of-all-a/nnM23/)
Martin County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to file a legal appeal challenging a state board's decision to allow All Aboard Florida to sell $1.75 billion in tax exempt bonds to help pay for the private rail project.
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Martin County Attorney Michael Durham said Tuesday's vote would allow the county's legal team to meet privately with the five-member commission in order to discuss their strategy for challenging the bonds.
"We are asking for the authority to go ahead and file the actions to at least get us into an executive session," Durham told the commission Tuesday. "Time is running out. We need to file these actions by Aug. 25."
In an an unprecedented vote, the Florida Development Finance Corporation, a special financing unit authorized by the state Legislature to issue tax-exempt bonds to private entities, agreed Aug. 5 to allow All Aboard Florida to issue the private activity bonds. More than 300 people from throughout South Florida, the Treasure and Space Coast, and Central Florida, attended the long-awaited meeting held in downtown Orlando.
The bonds will be marketed to accredited investors and institutional buyers at no risk to taxpayers.
AllAboardFlorida plans to run 32 trains a day between Miami and Orlando, with stops in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The company expects 5.4 million annual riders by 2020 paying ticket prices that range from $11 for a one-way ride between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, to $143 for a business-class fare between Miami and Orlando. By 2030, it projects 7 million riders, with annual revenues of nearly $400 million.
At Tuesday's meeting, Martin County officials said the legal challenge would focus on the FDFC's authority to approve the bond sale. Opponents of the express rail project have questioned why state and federal officials would help the company finance a private development project, while supporters say trains will bring jobs and economic development to the state.
Both the FDFC and All Aboard Florida did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
All Aboard Florida won preliminary approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation in December to issue the bonds, but the state finance corporation was also required to approve the sale.
According to documents filed with the FDFC, the 30-year bonds will not be rated and the minimum denomination for the bonds will be $100,000, documents show.
What a waste of tax payer funds....