Fitch Rates Columbia, Missouri $34.7MM Spec Obligations 'AA'.CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. assigns an 'AA' rating to the city of Columbia, Missouri's $34,685,000 special obligation electric utility improvement bonds (annual appropriation obligation), series 2006C. The bonds are scheduled for negotiated sale on Sept. 18, 2006 with A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. serving as financial advisor to the city. The bonds are payable from the city's annual appropriation of funds, if pledged electric user fees are insufficient. Proceeds will finance improvements to the city's municipal electric system. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The rating is based on the city's diverse and growing economy, anchored by the University of Missouri, strong financial practices and performance evidenced by steady tax funding of the capital program and healthy general fund reserves, and low debt levels, with all direct debt supported by user fees and dedicated capital levies capital levy, form of taxation by which the government takes part of the capital of any person or business, as distinguished from a tax on personal or business income. . The electric utility system benefits from its strong and growing service territory and is viewed favorably fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. on a stand-alone basis. In addition, the system's strength is derived from its historically strong financial performance and rates that are in-line with those of the regional investor-owned utility. The system provides power and energy to its customers through a combination of owned generating resources and purchased power, a mix that is expected to become more predominantly coal-based with the system's expected participation in two new coal-fired power plants expected to come online in the 2010-2011 timeframe. Located in central Missouri along Interstate in·ter·state adj. Involving, existing between, or connecting two or more states. n. One of a system of highways extending between the major cities of the 48 contiguous United States. Noun 1. 70, the city's diverse economic base includes a mix of government, education, health care and financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. . The vibrant university community has created a highly skilled workforce-about 58% are college graduates, compared with 27% nationally-which has promoted basic and applied research and attracted considerable private business investment. City unemployment remains low and tends to track near the national rate. Although the city has a university population of 38,700, household incomes also approximate the national average. Including higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. and governmental property, about 27% of the city's land area is tax-exempt. Nonetheless, tax base growth averages 5.3% in the past five years, and building permit activity remains very strong, indicating continued tax base expansion. Good quality schools and affordable housing values drove steady residential growth of 2% annually since 2000. The city's superior financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against practices for both its general and proprietary operations produced steady fiscal results and a strong financial position in the past several years. As much of the land area is exempt from property taxation, the city uses sales taxes sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. to capture robust retail activity. The city's 1% general sales tax provided about 41% of general fund revenues in fiscal 2005, and healthy growth in sales tax receipts contributed to a general fund balance of $17 million (29.3% of spending). The city also imposes capital improvement, transportation, and parks sales taxes which are dedicated to capital investment. The city currently has no direct tax-supported debt but overall debt, including the local school district, equals a modest $1,104 per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. or 2.1% of property values. The city typically secures voter approval for water and light issues, and the current issue represents the first offering of a $60 million authorization approved by 86% of voters. Enterprise funds are responsible for financing their own capital projects. The city's general capital improvement plan equals about $118 million through 2011 and is largely discretionary. About 60% of the program is dedicated to street and sidewalk A Microsoft service that was launched in 1997 to provide online arts and entertainment guides on the Web for major cities worldwide. In 1999, Microsoft sold Sidewalk to Ticketmaster, which continued to provide guides, ticketing and other information to the MSN network. repair, 15% for park and recreation improvements, and the balance for city building renovation and public safety projects. As the program is financed through internal sources, no additional tax-supported debt is expected for the next two years. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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