El Monte

El Monte has joined the cities of Downey and San Jacinto to create the El Monte-Downey-San Jacinto Housing Finance Agency and to issue $20 million in residential mortgage revenue bonds, City Manager Greg Korduner said. El Monte will use $3 million of the bond issue to subsidize mortgage interest rates for first-time buyers, and another $13 million will be allocated for construction of 150 townhomes in the Ramona Boulevard redevelopment project by the All West Development Co., Korduner said. Downey and San Jacinto each will be responsible for $2 million in bonds. Korduner said the cities teamed up to secure a more favorable bond rating than could be obtained for three smaller bond issues. The better the bond rating, the lower the interest rate the cities must pay on the bonds, he said.