Procurement News Notice |
|
| PNN | 9064 |
| Work Detail | Mount Pleasant City Council members unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday refunding certain utility bonds that will yield a net savings of $175,000 over 10 years, which amounts to 5 percent of the debt. John Martin Jr., a financial advisor with Hilltop Securities appeared at Tuesday’s meeting to explain the process for refunding bonds issued in 2006 and 2010 to obtain a lower interest rate. The city received nine bids, the lowest of which came from TIB (The Independent BankersBank) at 1.57 percent. “That’s phenomenal, Martin said. “We were paying 4.13 percent.” He also added that the potential savings quoted are net savings, after all necessary fees and expenses. First National Bank of Killeen’s bid proposed a lower interest rate, but included about $2,000 in fees, making the bond package more expensive than the next lowest bidder. When the bonds are placed for sale, Martin said local banks will have the opportunity to buy them. “It’s always good to have local participation,” Martin said. Jeff Gublas, a bond counselor with the law firm of McCall, Parkhurst & Horton LLP in Dallas, also appeared before the council to answer questions and oversee the execution of documents related to the sale. In response to a question from Councilman Michael McGahee about the city’s bond rating, advisors said the current rating by S&P was AA-. “We were not required to get a new rating for this transaction,” Martin said. “They’re expensive — $12,000 or $15,000 — and that takes you right out of the savings.” The council also approved a new Municipal Advisory Agreement with Hilltop Securities. Although the business name is new — it emerged from the merger of FirstSouthwest and Southwest Securities — the personnel handling the city’s bond business have worked with Mount Pleasant staffers and officials to finance capital projects for many years. The agreement is the same as the document it replaces, but updates company names to meet securities laws and other industry regulations. City officials held the first of two public hearings on the proposed tax rate, offering the public the opportunity to share their opinion with council members. The proposed rate of 34.37 cents per $100 is the same as the existing rate, however an increase in the value of the tax roll as a whole would result in the collection of more property taxes that then current year. The effective tax rate — the total tax rate needed to raise the same amount of revenue on the same properties in the 2015 and 2016 — is 34.14 cents per $100, triggering the need for two hearings, said City Manager Mike Ahrens. The proposed rate is 2.8 cents below the rollback rate. The rollback rate is the highest tax rate that the City of Mount Pleasant may adopt before voters are entitles to petition for an election to limit the rate that may be approved to the rollback rate. No one spoke during Tuesday’s public hearing. A second hearing is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 501 N. Madison Street. Following the meeting, the council held a budget workshop. The discussion centered on salaries for the city manager and fire chief. Mayor Dr. Paul Meriwether informed the council that Ahrens has not had any change in salary in several years, other than the cost of living adjustment granted to all city employees. Comparing Ahrens compensation package to other city managers of comparable size cities in the region would rank him 24th out of 44 cities, Meriwether said. Meriwether recommended a 5 percent increase. “It doesn’t quite bring him up to where he needs to be, but it homes in the right direction,” Meriwether said. Mayor Pro Tem Robert Nance supported the recommendation. “We need to do something,” Nance said. “This is the only salary (the council) sets. I think that’s fair.” Even after the increase, Ahrens’ salary will be below the average city manager salary according to the Texas Municipal League. The mayor pointed out that Ahrens did not prepare any of the documentation shared with council members related to city manager salaries. Councilman Tim Dale added that another salary that falls below that of other department heads is the fire chief. Even with a 5 percent merit pay increase, that position would pay less in Mount Pleasant than in comparable cities. In the ensuing discussion, council members and fire department staff in the audience said cities have a considerable difference in the duties assigned to the chief, depending on whether he is tasked with acting as an emergency management coordinator or fire marshal. Titus County pays a portion of the fire chief’s salary in exchange for the city employee acting as emergency management coordinator for the county as well. “He gets 100 percent of what we get from the county as salary or benefits,” Ahrens said. The city absorbs other expenses related to providing emergency management services such as use of a vehicle, fuel, secretarial services and other staff time. Dale pointed out that some cities pay the fire chief twice as much as Mount Pleasant does. “We could have three people doing what the fire chief does,” Ahrens said, referring to the roles of fire chief, fire marshal and emergency management coordinator. In Mount Pleasant, a team of trained firefighters perform inspections as required. The Mount Pleasant Fire Department rarely investigates the cause and origin of fires, staff members said. Investigations are performed by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.dailytribune.net/news/council-votes-to-refinance-m-in-bonds/article_66cf7bf6-7554-11e6-aacc-a7738740c90e.html |
