A proposed 15,000-square-foot Madisonville area library just got a little cheaper for area taxpayers.

St. Tammany Parish government, which approves the sale of bonds for upfront cash then retires the debt over years with incoming taxes, has received an improved bond rating that ranks it among the best in Louisiana.

The upgrade from AA- to AA, issued by Standard and Poor’s, places St. Tammany on par with Jefferson Parish, the only other governmental agency in the state with an AA rating. Similar to a credit rating, a bond rating reduces interest rates for long-term debts.

In the case of the parish government, that means interest rates of about 4.1 percent required to repay the library’s $5 million construction cost, Donald Westmoreland, finance director for all St. Tammany Parish libraries, said.

That’s roughly a $50,000 savings.

“The rates are so low, the stars kind of lined up for this one,” Westmoreland said.

Typical interest rates can range as high as 6 to 7 percent.

And although the ”lion’s share of the bond money” will be pumped into the new Madisonville library, leftover funds will upgrade existing libraries elsewhere.

Monies to retire the upcoming bond renewal come from a voter approved millage rate of 6.33 mills collected over 15 years.

“We have 20 percent of the space we ought to have in our library system,” Westmoreland said. “Some libraries are the size of a small house, so if you have reading time for children, nobody else can get anything done.”

With at least only nine of the parish’s 11 libraries in operation today, St. Tammany’s library system is “so far behind” the rest of the state it ranks 37th statewide in monetary collections and materials, said Dr. Argiro Morgan, president of the St. Tammany Parish Library Board.

While other areas such as Baton Rouge and Lafayette have built libraries, St. Tammany has sat idle.

A comprehensive package to change this and upgrade all libraries throughout the parish was denied by voters in 2006, Westmoreland said. So now, improvements will be made little by little as money is available.

The upgraded bond rating will help.

St. Tammany earned the bond rating for the library improvement packages because parish government sustains strong wealth and income levels while maintaining a low overall debt burden.

“These factors, along with St. Tammany’s stable and growing property and sales tax base, create a positive financial environment,” parish officials said in a press release. Standard and Poor’s called St. Tammany’s economic outlook “stable.”

“We are extremely pleased to receive this increase in rating from Standard and Poor’s,” said Parish President Kevin Davis. “The economy in St. Tammany is continuing to grow, and we are working diligently to ensure that economic growth and financial responsibility remain a part of our future.”

The new library, yet to be designed and with no timeline for completion, will take up 1/3 of the 6-acre tract of land near the Maritime Museum in Madisonville.

Preliminary plans call for a raised library with parking access underneath, Morgan said. Additional parking will be accessed at the Maritime Museum.

Renowned Dallas-based architect Denelle Wrightson has emerged as the Library Board’s design frontrunner, although no contract has been signed, Morgan said. Wrightson is the designer of more than 100 projects nationwide and has designed libraries in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport and other areas, Westmoreland said.