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Henderson vote may help Touro University expand

The Henderson City Council on Tuesday will vote to issue up to $15 million in bonds to help Touro University expand its campus.

The tax-exempt bond would provide funds to expand existing health care programs, said Craig Seiden, vice president of finance and administration for the university.

City spokesman David Cherry said the emergency ordinance is necessary because Congress is working on a tax overhaul that would eliminate the issuance of certain municipal bonds.

“Touro University is a valuable part of our community and has brought jobs and other economic benefits to Henderson,” Cherry said in an email. “The medical professionals that receive their training at Touro are greatly needed in Southern Nevada and are helping to improve our local health care system.”

Touro University Nevada is a nonprofit, Jewish-sponsored private institution that opened in 2004 with 78 medical students. It has since grown to have roughly 1,400 students, Seiden said.

Through the City of Henderson, Nevada Public Improvement Trust, the city may issue and sell up to $15 million in bonds for things such as job creation, services, infrastructure and affordable housing.

“The advantage to the applicant is that the bonds issued are tax free and generally at a lower interest rate,” Cherry said in an email.

The university is responsible for repaying the bonds.

Specific formal application procedures must be followed in filing an application with the trust. Application fees range from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the size of the proposed issue, Cherry said.

Touro University’s application fee is $12,500, he said.

If the ordinance passes, a third approval would have to be given to the Touro application by the State Board of Finance, which will meet Dec. 4.

Contact Sandy Lopez at slopez@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4686. Follow @JournalismSandy on Twitter.

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