Committee forwards authorization to issue up to $644.7 million in refunding bonds

The Budget and Finance Committee voted March 6 to forward to the full Board a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of general obligation refunding bonds, Series 2024 R1, not to exceed $644,675,000, and an accompanying ordinance to appropriate the proceeds and place the amounts on Controller's reserve.

Vishal Drerdhi of the Office of Public Finance told the committee the not‑to‑exceed amount represents the full universe of callable bonds eligible for refunding and that the City will structure any transaction to meet an adopted minimum savings threshold of 3% net present value. Drerdhi said the office issued an RFP for underwriting services and expected responses by March 8, with pricing and closing planned in April–May 2024. He reported an estimated true interest cost of 3.21% based on a November good‑faith estimate and said market movement of roughly 40–50 basis points since then could change the viability of refunding the full universe.

Nick Menard of the Budget and Legislative Analyst office recommended approval while noting the current estimate did not meet the 3% policy threshold for refunding the full set of eligible maturities.

The committee recorded unanimous 'Aye' votes and forwarded the resolution and ordinance to the Board for final action.