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McCrory board approves three-year agreement with First Security Beardsley, adds $2,000 annual disclosure fee
Summary
The McCrory School District board voted March 16 to employ First Security Beardsley as municipal adviser and paying agent for three years. The contract splits bond legal fees out of adviser fees and adds a $2,000 annual continuing-disclosure and services fee; the board approved the motion by voice vote.
The McCrory School District board voted March 16 to employ First Security Beardsley as the district’s municipal adviser and paying agent under a three-year agreement effective on adoption.
The firm’s presenter, Michael Dos, told the board the renewed contract separates legal fees from adviser fees and introduces an annual $2,000 charge for continuing-disclosure and related annual services. "We're splitting out legal fees from our fee," Dos said, illustrating that on a $3 million bond the previous combined fee of $30,000 would now be split so the district pays $24,000 to the adviser and about $6,000 directly to the bond attorney. He said the new $2,000 annual fee covers regulatory continuing-disclosure filings and other annual services such as board training, sample budgets and financial reviews.
Dos said the district would not be charged the $2,000 annual fee during years in which the district issues or refinances bonds: "In years that we're doing bond issues, we're not going to charge you both," he said.
Board members moved and seconded the recommendation to employ First Security Beardsley as municipal adviser for a three-year term; the motion carried on a voice vote. The board signed the agreement following the vote.
Why it matters: Municipal advisers support the district during bond planning, issuance and compliance. Splitting legal fees from adviser fees clarifies professional billing, and the recurring $2,000 charge spreads annual compliance costs across years rather than increasing per-issue bond fees. Dos told the board the approach should keep bond-issuance fees lower in the long run while covering ongoing compliance obligations.
What was not specified: The contract text and the separate legal-fee schedule were discussed but not read into the record at the meeting; specific annual legal-fee rates were described by example only. The board voted to approve the employment and did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript.
