Budget committee recommends DA Davidson engagement letter for Tumwater bond underwriting; move to consent calendar approved

TUMWATER, Wash. — The Budget & Finance Committee on May 23 recommended placing a bond-underwriting engagement letter with DA Davidson on the June 3 consent calendar, authorizing the city to begin preparatory work for debt financing of planned capital projects.

Troy (staff member) told the committee the city has two major capital projects planned in the biennium — an operations-and-maintenance facility and a water storage tank — and that the city is preparing financing plans. He said DA Davidson has worked with Tumwater since 1991 and remains the recommended firm after staff learned that the Hilltop Securities contacts who presented last year had left Hilltop’s firm.

“My recommendation is to go with DA Davidson,” Troy said, adding that the engagement letter allows the firm to begin advising the city; it does not obligate the city to issue debt or preclude later changes.

Committee members agreed the item was largely a technical step and suitable for the consent calendar; members noted DA Davidson’s local government experience and that consent items can be pulled for discussion at the council’s discretion. The committee called for a vote to move the engagement letter to the June 3 consent calendar; the motion carried unanimously.

Staff explained that, once formally engaged, underwriters and staff typically need several months (roughly three to four) to complete financing preparations before any debt issuance, and that future council decisions would be required for any specific financing amount, structure, interest-rate assumptions and final approvals.

The committee’s recommendation places the DA Davidson engagement letter on the June 3 consent calendar; if pulled from consent for discussion, the council may consider it in detail at that meeting.