$290.8 Million of City Outstanding Parity General Obligation Bonds > Expected Sale Date 15 March 2016

Hold on a minute! - that was yesterday's news in a press release from Moody's Investment Services. . . Two hours ago, via Reuters, there was this headline

Calpers, Moody's settle mortgage suit

The California Public Employees Retirement System, or Calpers, said it has reached a $130 million settlement with Moody's and Moody's Investors' Service to resolve a case involving mortgage deals.

The lawsuit stems from losses the pension fund suffered after the collapse of the housing market and defaults on formerly AAA-rated securities that were backed by pools of residential mortgages that turned out to be not so highly-rated but rather quite risky by Moody's and other rating agencies in 2009.

The settlements rank as the largest known recovery from Moody's and S&P in a private lawsuit for civil damages, Calpers said.

DEFINITION of 'Refunding' The process of retiring or redeeming an outstanding bond issue at maturity by using the proceeds from a new debt issue. The new issue is almost always issued at a lower rate of interest than the refunded issue, ensuring significant reduction in interest expense for the issuer.
Readers of this post can go the City of Mesa website for more details about debt-financing
http://www.mesaaz.gov/about-us/city-projects/bonds
The City issues debt in the form of bonds in order to finance long-term capital improvements such as streets, buildings, utility systems, etc. Bond funds cannot be used to fund City operations such as employee salaries, police vehicles or personal computers.
Issuing bonds allows the City to meet infrastructure needs while paying for the assets as they are used. Because municipal bonds are typically tax-exempt, they usually carry a lower interest rate than other types of debt, and are therefore an attractive source of financing. 

The City continues to place a high priority on infrastructure investment to attract and service future development.
Residents wishing to purchase City of Mesa bonds should contact a securities broker in order to purchase securities in the secondary market.
City bonds are not sold directly to the public. Rather, bonds are sold in bulk in order for the City to receive the most favorable interest rate. 

The City uses two main types of bond financing:
General Obligation
Utility Systems Revenue bonds.
The ratings for these bonds are show above.

General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds are used to finance public safety, street, park, library, and storm sewer projects. They are repaid primarily through  secondary property tax, development impact fees, and sales tax revenue. G.O. Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the City.
Utility Revenue Bonds are used to finance gas, water, wastewater, electric, and solid waste projects. Utility Revenue bonds are repaid from revenues received from the customers of each particular utility.

Rating Action:
Moody's assigns Aa2 to City of Mesa's, (AZ) GO Refunding Bonds 2016
Global Credit Research - 09 Mar 2016
Source: Moody's Research PR_903163570 March 9, 2016 

- Issue: General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Tax-Exempt Series 2016A

Rating: Aa2

Sale Amount: $20,475,000

Expected Sale Date: 3/15/2016

Rating Description: General Obligation

- Issue: General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Taxable Series 2016B
Rating: Aa2
Sale Amount: $22,935,000
Expected Sale Date: 3/15/2016
Rating Description: General Obligation

Moody's has affirmed the Aa2 ratings on the city's approximately $290.8 million of outstanding, parity General Obligation (GO) bonds. The long term rating carries a stable outlook. 
The Aa2 reflects the city's large property tax base, which grew at a healthy rate in 2015 and 2016 after several years of declines; a diverse local economy that continues to expand at a pace that exceeds the nation; stable financial operations and strong management; and a moderate debt burden

Rating Outlook
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the city and regional economic recovery will continue and will support growth in primary operating revenues and that the city will continue to make timely budgetary adjustments, as necessary, to preserve financial flexibility.

Legal Security
The bonds are secured by the city's unlimited ad valorem tax general obligation (GO) pledge.

Use of Proceeds
Proceeds will be used to refund certain maturities of previously issued debt for annual debt service savings.

Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653

An infographic for comparison