Sarah Trafton reports for Columbia-Greene Media that on Aug. 15 Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc was the successful bidder on a $39-million bond from Greene County, with an interest rate of 2.49 percent. The $39-million bond is to partially pay for the new Greene County jail in Coxsackie. County officials were going to borrow the money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture at 3.5 percent interest, but “Due diligence resulted in over $7 million of savings in interest costs on this project,” Greene County Treasurer Peter Markou said in a statement. “We received seven strong bids from well-respected financial institutions. The recent credit rating upgrade made a considerable difference in the rate and savings.” Greene County legislators voted for a $39-million bond last September based on an 80-bed jail proposal. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden has been saying this year, as opposition to the jail increased, that it would be a 48-bed facility. After the jail was approved by the legislature, that changed to a 60-bed facility, the current line from Groden. Last October Greene County Legislator William Lawrence (R-Cairo), chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said, on average, Greene County residents can expect a 6.73 percent tax increase next year because of the construction. The tax increases are similar across the county with Windham residents seeing the lowest increase of 6.48 percent, and Ashland residents receiving the largest increase, of 6.91 percent.