Category Archives: Bonds and Notes
Sequestration Affects Build America Bond Issuers
by Matthew D. Jessup on March 6, 2013
The talk-of-the-town the past two weeks in Washington DC and around the country has been about sequestration. You can’t turn on the television or “open” a newspaper on your iPad without hearing about it. The federal budget cuts that took effect March 1, 2013 affect defense spending, air traffic controllers, and now even tours at [...]
MSRB Notice 2012-25 – Brutal Honesty In The Municipal World
by Christopher B. Langhart on August 3, 2012
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) Notice 2012-25 (the “Notice”) was approved by the SEC on May 4, 2012 and took effect on August 2, 2012. The Notice sets forth the responsibility of underwriters of municipal securities to make certain disclosures to an issuer, to ensure that they have dealt fairly with that issuer. Specifically, the [...]
Local Finance Board Releases Questionnaire for Applicants Seeking Tax Appeal and Other Approvals
by Matthew D. Jessup on July 18, 2012
The Local Finance Board (Board) has released a questionnaire for all municipal and county applicants seeking approval of the Board to: 1. Long-term finance tax appeals; 2. Long-term finance certain emergencies; and 3. Issue bonds pursuant to a non-conforming maturity schedule. The four-page questionnaire is being used by the Board to help assess whether the [...]
Retroactive Financing of Tax Appeals – A New Tool for Municipalities
by Matthew D. Jessup on January 19, 2012
It’s no secret that municipalities have been hit hard by the ongoing recession. One source of significant financial stress is the amount of money that municipalities are required to pay to residents as a result of tax appeals. As real estate values continue to decline, successful tax appeals continue to rise, forcing municipalities to pay [...]
Local Finance Board Paving the Way to Faster Refundings
by Matthew D. Jessup on December 15, 2011
Yesterday, the Local Finance Board (Board) took the first step in establishing a new rule that would allow municipalities and counties to issue refunding bonds and capture debt service savings on an expedited basis. This is a significant development, as timing is everything when it comes to refundings, particularly in this volatile economic market. The [...]
Additional Tax Appeal Relief Has Arrived
by Matthew D. Jessup on September 30, 2011
The Division of Local Government Services indicated today that municipalities may, for the first time, finance with refunding bonds or notes the amount owed to a taxpayer as a result of a successful tax appeal and applied as a credit against future taxes to be paid by such taxpayer (taxpayer credits). Previously, municipalities were able to [...]
Three Ways to Improve Your Bond Credit Rating
by Matthew D. Jessup on August 8, 2011
In today’s municipal bond market, your credit rating is more important than ever. Underwriters and financial advisors say that the difference between an “A” rating and a “AA” rating can mean the difference of 30 basis points or more. Such a difference can result in interest rate savings of $315,000 on a $10,000,000 20-year general [...]
Does the SEC Want to Hear from NJ Bond Issuers?
by Matthew D. Jessup on March 24, 2011
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that additional field hearings examining the state of the municipal securities market were being suspended due to budgetary constraints. In lieu of these hearings, the SEC is asking market participants to submit comments on a wide range of municipal securities market topics, including “disclosure and [...]
Who Is Filing Your Secondary Market Disclosure?
by Matthew D. Jessup on March 16, 2011
This is the time of year when each calendar-year municipality is finalizing its audited financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2010 and adopting its budget for 2011. The focus is generally on the finishing touches for the audit, as well as working with the Division of Local Government Services to fine-tune the revenue [...]
by Matthew D. Jessup on December 17, 2010
Last night, the House of Representatives followed the earlier action of the Senate and approved significant tax legislation that, among other things, failed to include an extension of the Build America Bond (BAB) Program. The BAB Program automatically expires on December 31, 2010, and tax legislation was the last chance for a stay of execution. [...]
Matthew D. Jessup, Blog Editor
Matt Jessup chairs the Public Finance practice group at McManimon, Scotland & Baumann, LLC. Matt has been with the firm for 10 years, during which time he has participated in the issuance of hundreds of millions of dollars of bonds and notes for countless counties, municipalities and public authorities. Read More
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