Lake Mills 2010 Promissory Notes

The City has decided to raise funds through the issuance of GO debt for public purposes, including paying the cost of street construction, sidewalk and storm sewer improvements, acquisition of municipal equipment and other 2010 capital projects. The issuance and sale includes the refinancing of previously issued debt.
The City Attorney acts as City’s legal counsel. Bond investors need assurance that the City has properly authorized the bonds. Each entity must comply with both state laws and local authorizations. Thus, it is important that the legal counsel understands authorization rules. It is also important that the City Attorney review bond documents to ensure accuracy and that any City commitments in the bond documents do not run afoul of the City’s other policies and rules.
The City’s Bond Counsel is Quarles and Brady. Bond Counsel is an important resource in the debt issuance process. Bond Counsel opines on the legality of the bond offering, thereby acting as legal advisor to the ultimate investor.
Bond Counsel serves two primary functions:
Counsel ensures the bonds are legally authorized and issued.
Counsel issues a legal opinion as to the tax‐exempt status of the bonds. The legal opinion must be unconditional and is essential for a bond issue to be marketable.
Because of market demands, only a law firm that is recognized as Bond Counsel through experience should act as Bond Counsel. A local attorney or law firm inexperienced in bond matters will rarely be acceptable to the market. Local attorneys may be, and often are, employed for other purposes to assist with debt issuance. Although Bond Counsel are not specially certified or licensed, they must command the confidence and respect of the investment community.
The services of Bond Counsel include:
Determining whether legal and binding authority exists to issue the bonds.
Drafting a bond ordinance, resolution, or a trust indenture (for revenue bonds).
Drafting the notice of sale.
Examining all or part of the Official Statement.
Examining transcripts of proceedings to determine that the bonds were legally advertised and sold.
Submitting a written legal opinion on the tax-exempt status of the offering.
Determining that the bonds were legally executed.
Answering questions of the issuer, investment banker, or public official.
The City’s Financial Advisor, Ehlers & Associates provides a wide range of services to the City. In general, they will coordinate all elements of the bond sale from inception to closing. They are very competent and thoroughly knowledgeable in areas of local government laws and practices, investor attitudes and preferences, rating considerations, and the bond and money markets.
Ehlers & Associates manages the sale process leading up to the sale of the bonds and advises the City on business terms and the sale process.
Ehlers & Associates prepares an overall financing plan, advises on marketing the bonds, assists with a presentation rating agencies, calculates the timing of a bond sale, determines the range of interest costs for different alternative means of financing, provides an estimate of the underwriters’ fees, helps decide on the bond structure and call provisions, sets bid requirements, participates in a negotiated sale, evaluates the sale when it is finished, and participates in the preparation of the Official Statement to satisfy the informational needs of the prospective investors.