Fitch Rates Northern Palm Beach County, Florida, Water Control & Improvement Rfdg 'A-'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch has assigned an underlying 'A-' rating to Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District, FL's (the District) approximately $16.2 million water control and improvement refunding bonds refunding bond A bond that is issued for the purpose of retiring an outstanding bond. Issuers refund bond issues to reduce financing costs, eliminate covenants, and alter maturities. See also crossover refunding bonds, prerefunding. , Consolidated Units of Development No. 5C, 5D, 11 and 45, series 2006. The bonds, scheduled to price October 19 via negotiation with Raymond James  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . and Associates, Inc, will be insured by MBIA MBIA Montana Building Industry Association MBIA Municipal Bond Insurance Association MBIA Michigan Boating Industries Association MBIA Municipal Bond Investors Assurance MBIA Massachusetts Brain Injury Association MBIA Maryland Business Incubation Association Insurance Corp., whose insurer financial strength is rated 'AAA' by Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. . Proceeds will be used to refund all outstanding water control and improvement bonds previously issued to benefit units of development 5C, 5D, 11 and 45 for estimated savings of 5.2% of the refunded bonds. Fitch also affirmed the 'A-' rating on approximately $6.4 million in outstanding water control and improvement refunding bonds, Unit 5B; and the 'BBB' rating on $42.6 million of outstanding water control and improvement bonds, unit 9A and $25.8 million of outstanding water control and improvement bonds, unit 9B. The series 2006 bonds are repayable from special assessment drainage taxes levied within the project areas. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Credit strengths shared by the consolidated units of development include a lack of land owner concentration, debt issuance limited to 90% of benefit assessment, the ability to adjust the assessment annually, and debt service collected one year in advance of payment dates. The special assessment collection method and a rigorous tax lien Tax Lien A claim imposed by the federal government to liquidate a persons property until owing tax and debt is fully paid. Notes: Tax liens can be purchased from the government in the form of an investment. process provide further assurance to bondholders. Drainage taxes are not ad valorem taxes Ad Valorem Tax A tax based on the assessed value of real estate or personal property. In other words ad valorem taxes can be property tax or even duty on imported items. Property ad valorem taxes are the major source of revenues for state and municipal governments. , although under Florida law The jurisprudence of this state offers major differences from doctrines prevailing in the United States at either the federal level or that of the various states. Homestead exemption from forced sale, the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, the right to privacy, and the Williams non-ad valorem assessments may be collected in the same manner as ad valorem taxes. The basis of assessments is area rather than assessed value. District improvements benefiting Units 5C and 5D consisted of potable potable /pot·a·ble/ (po´tah-b'l) fit to drink. po·ta·ble adj. Fit to drink; drinkable. potable fit to drink. water capacity and wastewater distribution and collection enhancements. Both units were developed primarily as residential planned developments beginning in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and are located within the City of West Palm Beach (GO rating 'AA' by Fitch). The units are fully developed and owner-occupied as evidenced by the ten largest taxpayers accounting for less than 5% of total taxes paid in fiscal 2005. Further, property values for all landowners are very high relative to the current rate of drainage assessments resulting in very high value-to-lien ratios throughout 5C and 5D. Unit 11, developed as a mixed-use planned development subsequent to surface water and roadway improvements made by the District beginning in 1995, is located in Palm Beach Gardens and is fully developed and owner-occupied. Improvements in Unit 45 included roadways and potable water and wastewater distribution. Unit 45, developed for residential use and nearing build-out, is located in the city of Jupiter. Units 11 and 45 both benefit from strong value-to-lien ratios and lack any concentration among the largest drainage tax payers. Through fiscal 2005, total drainage tax collections in units 5C, 5D, 11 and 45 have been very strong, averaging slightly better than 100%, including interest and penalties. The Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District is a water control region, which is an independent special district of the State of Florida, established in 1959. The District, governed by a five-member board of supervisors and operated by 22 full-time employees, currently encompasses approximately 128 square miles of land in the northeastern portion of Palm Beach County. The act establishing the District allows the portions of the District to be designated as a unit of development for purposes of undertaking improvement projects. The District has created over 66 such units of development to date. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. 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