Village hires Baird to review CIP, debt and financing; firm to return preliminary financing plan in March

The committee heard an introduction from municipal-advisor Baird, which the village recently hired to evaluate the five-year capital improvement plan and municipal financing options.

Justin Fisher, a Baird municipal advisor, described the firm's underwriting capabilities and said the firm can structure financings to include local banks in specific maturities or, if desired, underwrite in-house. Emily Timmerman, who supports municipal banking operations at Baird, said the firm oversees financing-from-start-to-finish, coordinates timing with market windows and can run scenarios that bundle multiple years of projects to maintain bank-qualified status for portions of an issuance.

Fisher said Baird will return with a preliminary financing plan in March and is monitoring market conditions to choose optimal sale dates. He cited methods the firm uses to reduce borrowing costs, such as combining projects to increase demand for bonds and employing reimbursement resolutions to bridge timing on capital expenditures. Trustees asked for scenarios showing how larger borrowings would affect debt service and tax impacts; Baird said it would incorporate the village's five-year CIP and present comparative scenarios and strategic options.

What happens next: Baird will work with village staff to produce a preliminary financing plan in March and modeling that shows impacts on debt service, potential refinancing opportunities and options to pace borrowings to manage tax impacts. Baird also said it will look for refinancing opportunities where market conditions permit.