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Council authorizes publication of notice for $5.15M certificates of obligation
Summary
The council approved publication and posting of an intent notice to issue up to $5,150,000 in certificates of obligation for streets, parks projects and two fire trucks; staff emphasized the publication is a legal prerequisite and not an authorization to borrow.
City finance staff presented a resolution to direct publication of notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation (COs) with a maximum aggregate amount of $5,150,000 to fund a mix of streets and parks projects and vehicle purchases. Financial staff emphasized this step is a legal publication requirement and does not commit the council to borrowing.
"Before council can consider any issuance of certificates of obligation, it must be published twice in a public paper of record," Finance staff Michael Kuhn said, explaining timing requirements and the planned council consideration on July 21. Kuhn described the CO as continuing the city's three-year debt plan and said pricing and delivery were expected this summer.
Public comment during the citizen-input segment criticized frequent use of COs. Beth Crockett said the council had effectively been using COs as a "blank check" that bypasses voter approval and questioned reliance on debt for capital projects. Council approved the resolution to publish the notice in a unanimous vote.
Next steps: if council later votes to proceed with issuance, the COs would be priced and closed in coming months; otherwise the notice allows the city to keep options open without incurring debt obligations at this stage.
