Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance outlines plan to shift capital costs and seeks council OK to publish CO notice
Summary
Finance reviewed a strategy to move some capital expenditures from the M&O tax rate to I&S using certificates of obligation, tax notes and bonds; staff said notices to publish would appear on the next meeting and described projects totaling about $5.15M for near‑term CO consideration.
Finance staff presented the city's debt management approach, explaining a multi‑instrument plan to move eligible capital costs out of the M&O rate and onto the I&S rate via certificates of obligation (COs), general‑obligation bonds and tax notes.
"Of the 23 bond election projects for public safety animal shelter, Hertford Park, 7,600,000 was issued in 2023. An additional 25,700,000 was issued in 2025," finance staff said as part of a summary of recent issuances and the planned calendar for August pricing and September proceeds. Staff explained that the July 21 council meeting would be asked to approve a parameters ordinance giving staff authority to price the issuance once final assessed values are known so the tax rate can be managed to the expected voter‑approved level.
Staff also noted a notice of intent to issue COs would be published in advance of a future council meeting (required statutory publication twice, 45 days before pricing) and that COs slated for consideration the next day would fund about $4.0M in street projects and $1.15M in parks projects (approximately $5.15M total) if council proceeds. Councilors asked for clearer departmental breakdowns of planned issuances and pressed staff to show the debt schedule and department‑level allocations before final approval.
Staff warned that market conditions and rising rates could change pricing between now and August and said they prefer a parameters ordinance to allow flexibility on the issuance date to capture better market conditions.
