HAMPTON - The town of Hampton is cashing in on a great bond rating, saving more than $300,000 last week when it went out to bond for $6 million of the $12 million sewer infrastructure project.

"We got a really good rating and interest rate on that," said Town Manager James Barrington. "We saved $368,000 over the life of the 20-year note."

The town saved money by going out on its own for the bond, said Barrington, rather than going through the Municipal Bond Bank.

The savings may not end there. Barrington is now looking at refinancing older bonds, the same way homeowners refinance their houses, he said. As yet, he doesn’t know how much money the town can potentially save.

This is the first time Hampton has gone out on its own for a bond.

Towns the size of Hampton generally use the state Municipal Bond Bank for loans. By consolidating bonds and generating a larger volume of business, the Municipal Bond Bank is able to tap into a combined bond rating for a lower interest rate than most towns can get on their own.

Hampton Finance Director Donna Duhamel proposed the town look into getting its own bond rating, said Barrington.

The town submitted its financial information to Moody’s Investors Services, which does the ratings of governments. Moody’s looks at housing stock, the basis of industry and other economic factors.

"We got an A1 rating," said Barrington. "We got a better rating than many of the smaller municipalities."

Because of the rating, Barrington said, Hampton officials believed they could get a better interest rate on the bond going out on their own.

A year ago, Hampton put out a request for proposals to banks and bond banks, the same way towns put out bid requests.

The town chose Citizens Bank, said Barrington, which offered a rate of 3.85 percent interest.

"We would have been thrilled if we could have gotten 4.1 percent," he said.

The bond sale went through on Dec. 21. The money hit Hampton’s account on Thursday.

The money is half of what is needed for the $12 million sewer project. The town is also using $5.25 million for the project from a state revolving fund.

The town will be going to out to bond again in 2005 for part of the money for the $3 million Hurd Farm conservation easement. It hopes to save money on financing that project.