By Greg Crowe, President & CEO 1955 marked a significant year for many reasons, including the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her bus seat, the opening of the first Walt Disney theme park and the first McDonald’s restaurant, the death of actor James Dean, and the introduction of the first domestic […]
By Brian Johnson, Director of Investment Services As we reach the midpoint of 2025, the U.S. economy continues to show its resilience. However, there are some signs of cooling on the horizon. The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, increased 0.1% for the month […]
By Tami Olszewski, Senior Investment Adviser and Stephen Broden, Director of Arbitrage Consulting Unlocking the Power of Tax-Exempt Investment Vehicles Municipalities, possibly your community, may be sitting on unspent bond proceeds earning interest above the allowable arbitrage yield. While this may seem like a short-term win, it can trigger a long-term IRS rebate liability. Fortunately, […]
By April Weller, Senior Fiscal Consultant Financial Policies That Work! Financial policies are the foundation of sound, strategic financial management. They provide a clear framework for decision-making, promote consistency across operations, and help ensure long-term stability. Well-crafted policies foster a shared understanding of how financial resources are managed, support compliance with statutory requirements, and can […]
by Nick Anhut, Senior Municipal Advisor, Greg Johnson, Senior Municipal Advisor, and Jeff Seeley, Senior Municipal Advisor Alternatives to Refunding Municipal issuers have historically enjoyed the privilege of being able to optionally redeem existing, long-term debt at face value during the life of a debt issue. For most debt with final maturities 10 – 20 […]
By Harry Allen, Municipal Advisor Slinger Moves Forward with New Police Station as Community Grows Since 2015, the Village of Slinger has been exploring long-term solutions to address the growing needs of its police department. Located in Washington County, the Village has experienced significant growth, with its population increasing 80% from 3,645 in 2000 to […]
By Dan Tienter, Municipal Advisor Blueprint for a Better Budget At Ehlers, we often emphasize that budget development and adoption may be the most critical activity for any local government. Yet, despite the significance of this annual practice, the public sometimes knows little about its impact on their daily lives – both in the costs […]
By Nick Anhut, Senior Municipal Advisor The City of St. Francis Builds New Joint City Hall & Fire Station The City of St. Francis had been in discussions over building a new City Hall for over 20 years, only to find it was never quite “the right time.” Repeated investments of staff time, studies and […]
By Brian Johnson, Director of Investment Services 2025 kicked off with speculation and uncertainty about how the economy and market would respond to a new political landscape and prospective policy changes. Now entering the third month of the year, we’ve seen the markets begin to digest recent data releases suggesting some downside risks to the […]
By Ryan Miles, Senior Investment Adviser | Managing Director, Greg Johnson, Senior Municipal Advisor, and Stephen Broden, Senior Arbitrage Consultant | Director of Arbitrage Consulting Effective Bond Proceeds Management Whenever tax-exempt debt is issued for a new project, it’s important to develop an investment strategy that coincides with the anticipated spend down of proceeds. Given […]
