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Featured Bond – Week of April 15, 2019: The City of Miami Beach Florida $152 Million in General Obligation and Refunding Bonds
Overview
The City of Miami Beach, Florida is scheduled to issue Series 2019 Bonds to fund multiple infrastructure projects in the realms of Public Safety, Neighborhood Improvements, and Parks and Recreational Facilities. The 2019 Bonds will also provide refunding for the outstanding Series 2003 Bonds of the City. The bonds are direct general obligations of the City.
The Bonds are set to be negotiated during the week of April 15, 2019 by an underwriting group led by BofA Merrill Lynch. Moody’s rates the Bonds Aa2 and S&P assigns a rating of AA+.
About Miami Beach & the Purpose of the Bonds
The City of Miami Beach had a 2018 estimated population of 93,323. In 2017 the estimated family income was $69,764. Miami Beach has seen major changes in demographics. As per the 1980 Census the average age was 65.3, declining to 39 by 2000, and was 40.3 in the 2010 Census.
Tourism and hospitality play a large role in generating revenue in the City. Hotel data from 2018 showed that Miami Beach had a 11.8% increase from 2017 in terms of revenue per available room and a 2.6% increase based on hotel occupancy. The City has remained for many years the most common place for visitor lodging in the Greater Miami area. This upward trend in tourism and constant trend of tourism being the largest sector of the City’s economy helps provide information on why the City is looking to invest more money into overall neighborhood and recreational/cultural facility infrastructure.
There are three main types of projects that the bonds will be providing funds for.
Public Safety Projects (not to exceed $36.9 million)
These include improvements to the fire and public safety facilities, improvements of equipment and technology, and improvements to the lighting and security throughout the city.
Neighborhood and Infrastructure Projects (not to exceed $28.4 million)
These projects include improvements to stormwater and flooding systems, sidewalk and street repairs, protected bike lanes, pedestrian paths, and general landscaping.
Park, Recreational, and Cultural Facility Projects (not to exceed $87.7 million)
These projects will include improvements to playgrounds, baywalks, beachwalks, waterways, equipment and lighting of these spaces. Between the three groupings, spending on these projects via the 2019 Bonds is the highest.
Security for the Bonds
The City has pledged its full faith, credit, and taxing power to the punctual payment of the principal of and interest on the Series 2019 Bonds. The bonds are direct obligations of the City and all taxable property within the corporate limits of the City is subject to ad valorem property taxes to debt service on the 2019 Bonds without rate or amount limitations. The tax shall be collected in the same manner and time as other ad valorem taxes are assessed, levied, and collected, and proceeds will be applied solely to the payment of the principal and interest of the Series 2019 Bonds.
The bonds are rated Aa2 by Moody’s and AA+ by S&P.
These details and more on purposes, security, risks and other matters pertaining to these City of Miami Beach general obligation bonds can the found in the official statement, provided by MuniOS. After registering, if needed, visitors can link directly to the official statement as well as an investor’s roadshow by searching for the City of Miami Beach.
Statistical Snapshot: City of Miami Beach Selected Financial and Economic Indicators
City of Miami Beach financial snapshot as of September 30, 2017 Fiscal Year Audit. Source: Merritt Research Services, LLC
Provided above is a quick snapshot of financial characteristics of the City of Miami Beach along with the medians for other cites of all sizes, 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.
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.
Potential investors should rely only on the official documents and figures provided in the official statement (prospectus). Although the numbers presented in this summary are primarily derived from public documents, including issuer audits, issuer reports and other public sources such as federal reporting agencies , they are not intended to replace official information presented in connection with the bond sale. Medians may differ from official sales documents due to methodology or survey base variances.