Featured New Municipal Bond Issue, Week of 10/02/2017: City of Columbus, OH General Obligation Bonds – $314 Million
This week’s featured bond comes from the State of Ohio. The City of Columbus is issuing general obligation bonds in the amount of $314 million the week of October 02, 2017. These general obligation bonds are being issued in three series. Series 2017A is $286 million in unlimited tax general obligation bonds, and Series 2017B, $9 million, and Series 2017C, $20 million, are limited tax general obligation bonds. Series 2017A and Series 2017B are tax-exempt, while Series 2017C is federally taxable.
The authorization and purpose of these bonds are as follows:
Series 2017A Bonds
- Public Safety & Health – $18.2 million
- Recreation & Parks – $15.2 million
- Public Service — Transportation and Refuse Collection – $120.7 million
- Sanitary Sewer – $68.9 million
- Public Utilities — Water, Storm, and Power – $62.8 million
Series 2017B Bonds
- Construction Management – $4.9 million
- Information Services – $3.9 million
Series 2017C Bonds
- Fleet Management – $1.5 million
- Information Services – $750,000
- Recreation & Parks – $750,000
- Construction Management – $1 million
- Economic & Community Development – $15.5 million
Any bond proceeds in excess of the allocation to the above projects will be deposited into the applicable city bond retirement fund. The bonds contain a pledge of the full faith and credit of the City of Columbus. The Series 2017A bonds have a security that requires the city to levy ad valorem property taxes outside the limitations imposed by Ohio law, unlimited as to rate and amount. Series 2017B and Series 2017C bonds have a similar security, except that the city is subject to limitations as set on Ohio law as to ad valorem taxation. Further details on the purposes, tax-status, and security, as well as other matters pertaining to these Columbus OH general obligation bonds can be found in the preliminary official statement, provided by Ipreo.
As of August 2017, the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area has an unemployment rate of 4.3%, which is 0.1% lower than the national rate for August, and 0.1% higher than at the same time in 2016. The chart below (click to expand) shows the changes in the Columbus MSA, State of Ohio, and U.S. unemployment rates for the past ten years. MuniNet provides this data and more, easily accessible, for all 50 states and each Metropolitan Statistical Area in the country, in our Employment Database.
Provided at left (click to expand) is a quick snapshot of financial characteristics of Columbus, OH as of 12/31/2016, compared with the medians for other U.S. cities for 2015-2016, courtesy of Merritt Research Services, LLC. Merritt has many of the sector medians publicly available and regularly updated on their Benchmark Central page. (Merritt believes the data to be reliable but does not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness). In addition to the Merritt information related to the featured bond, more information can be found on our municipal bond calendar,city, state, and county pages, and our employment database.
These facts and numbers are for informational purposes, and should not be considered an official disclosure for potential investors. Investors should consult the official statement. None of the information provided should be construed as a recommendation by MuniNet Guide, MuniNet LLC, Merritt Research Services LLC, or any of their employees. Information and analysis is for informational purposes only.
by Jeffrey L Garceau