The Grand Jury of San Diego issued a report of this title yesterday.  Also, at yesterday’s GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) business meeting, the group voted  that the Government Accounting Standards Board should stay away from the topic of sustainability.  The only conclusion one can draw from the Grand Jury report is: the city of [...]

California, Chapter 9, fiscal emergency, municipal bankruptcy, municipal bond default, state and local politics

See this post on Reuters for discussion about Antioch, latest city in California to talk bankruptcy.  There is a bill, sponsored by state senator Mendoza, AB155, that would require cities to go through the state (via the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, CDIAC).  The bill was referred last week by the Senate appropriations committee [...]

California, fiscal emergency, municipal bankruptcy, municipal bonds

Tight financial margins are not kind to political squabbles.  In the last few weeks the city of Los Angeles has been engaged in a squabble with the city council and its utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).  The city’s mayor wants the utility to implement green power, the utility asked for [...]

California, fiscal emergency, municipal bankruptcy, state and local politics

Here’s a clip from the California League of Cities concerning AB 155.  AB155 (and its parallel, SB88) briefly, would prevent California cities from filing bankruptcy without going through the state – California Debt Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC).  Numerous other states have adopted similar provisions, which puts the state in the middle of helping with a workout [...]

California, Chapter 9, municipal bankruptcy

Midterm congressional elections will be lively this year.   Conditions are ripe for tax and spending initiatives and numerous recall elections are also on the popular agenda.  Budget deficits, rising taxation and runaway spending are factors leading to tax and spending limitations.  Anger at the federal government sometimes gets played out at the state and local level [...]

ballot initiatives, California, direct democracy, Florida, state and local politics, states

A particularly toxic form of adjustable rate mortgage is going to hit the headlines in the spring and summer of 2010 with defaults, foreclosures and workout discussions extending into 2012.  “Option ARMs” also known as “Pick-a-pay” allow the borrower to choose how much to pay each month and reports indicate 94% of all borrowers paid [...]

California, fiscal stress, Florida, mortgage securities, Nevada

The slowdown in migration in the U.S. has significant consequences for municipal finance.  New population growth in a community has been the driving force in municipal infrastructure finance since the beginning – and the slowdown we have seen over the last two years will affect bond volume in previously high growth centers.  Borrowing to meet [...]

California, fiscal stress, Florida, Nevada, states

In a recent report about Mello-Roos Community Facility Districts (CFD’s) the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) stated:
Despite the potential impacts of evolving mortgage conditions, CFD’s have not reported higher default rates, at least through 2007-2008, but have reported a recent rise in the number of their draws on reserves.
(Mello-Roos bonds are post-proposition 13 [...]

California, municipal bond default, special district

School districts are often considered the safest investments in the tax exempt markets. They receive from 20-90% of their funding from their state governments, most of the rest from property taxes.  So what to worry? Well, state governments, whose revenues react most quickly to economic changes, are having trouble. (Excellent coverage of state troubles at [...]

California, municipal bonds, school district