Public Agency:
Bond, Consulting or Both:
Practice Areas:
NHA Contributions: NHA Advisors provided strategic planning and financial analysis to identify the optimal funding sources to meet the project’s cost estimates. Working with City staff to identify existing reserve levels, projected revenues and bond proceeds, NHA Advisors was able to develop a financing plan that minimized the need for debt while protecting certain portions of the City’s reserve funds.
Project Completion: October 2019
NHA Contact: Craig Hill and Rob Schmidt
Unique Characteristics of Project: Largest public facility project in the City’s history requiring support of the community through an approval of a transaction and use tax (Measure GG) which provided the extra funds to support debt necessary to construct the City’s new civic center which included City administration, City Council chamber, library, police station, emergency dispatch center, and multi‐function event space.
Executive Summary: In 2016, voters passed a 0.5% sales tax (Measure GG) to fund the demolition and reconstruction of the City’s civic center complex, including new developments for City administration, City council chamber, library, police station, emergency dispatch center, and multi‐function event space.
In response, NHA was asked to develop a comprehensive long-term financing plan to fund the $70+ million project. Using conservative revenue assumptions (due to the inherent volatility of sales tax revenues), NHA’s financing plan utilized a combination of Measure GG revenues, general fund reserves, and bond proceeds to fund the project. The financing plan also identified an opportunity to utilize economies of scale to refinance two general fund obligations to simplify book-keeping, streamline bond covenants, and improve cash flows.
The well-thought-out financing plan and a robust credit presentation ultimately resulted in a “AA” rating from S&P and Fitch, saving the City the expense of bond insurance.