Council Bluffs officials reviewed Moody’s credit methodology and the results of the city’s general‑obligation bond sale during the council meeting.

John Burmeister, a financial adviser from PFM, told the council the city’s quantitative credit score is built from economy, financial performance, institutional framework and leverage factors. “This is called the credit opinion from Moody’s Investor Service,” Burmeister said as he walked the council through the agency’s scorecard and how the city’s measures map to Moody’s rating categories.

Burmeister said the scorecard calculation produced a double‑A‑1 outcome while the city’s actual rating stood at double‑A‑2, a gap he described as upward pressure on the rating. He highlighted Council Bluffs’ low debt burden, rapid principal paydown and strong liquidity as credit strengths. “This is your strong point here… 46.2% and you’re in the AAA category,” he said when discussing fund balance ratios that factor into the rating.

On the bond sale, staff reported the city issued two series of GO bonds. Burmeister reviewed the bidding results for the larger Series A issue (originally shown in materials in the $5.6 million range) and a shorter Series B issue. He said Robert W. Baird submitted a leading bid for the Series A and Piper Sandler submitted the successful bid for Series B. Burmeister described active interest across the country: bidders and underwriting syndicates submitted competitive offers from multiple states. He also reported a modest bond premium on the transactions and that staff adjusted the final par amounts to meet the city’s capital needs.

Council discussion around the rating and sales was brief and focused on the city’s historically low debt and the timing of issuance. Burmeister noted the city had little outstanding high‑cost debt to refund, limiting opportunities for further savings by refunding existing bonds. Council members did not take separate action on the presentation; the formal awards of the bond sales were handled later on the agenda as resolution votes.

Ending

Materials presented to the council included Moody’s credit opinion and the bid tabulations for the two bond series. Council members had the option to ask follow‑up questions of the city finance staff and the city’s financial advisor; Burmeister invited questions after his presentation.