i.4.1 Financing Team

UNDERSTAND YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND THOSE OF YOUR FINANCING TEAM – Once a public agency has determined that debt financing in the municipal market is the right path, it must decide on the appropriate form of debt. This will depend upon factors internal to the agency, including its financing needs, the purpose of the financing, and its authority to both debt finance and to collect revenues for debt repayment. The form of the debt also depends upon factors external to the agency, including investor interest. Finding the path often requires specialized knowledge and participation of professionals outside the agency.

Regardless of who is involved and in what capacity, however, the SEC has made it clear that the issuer is “primarily responsible for the content of their disclosure documents and may be held liable under securities laws for misleading disclosure.”24 The reliance on work done by consultants, including those responsible for the development of the offering document, does not exempt the issuer of its responsibility. That being said, some consultants (attorneys, for example), are subject to both professional standards and regulations that define their level of service and obligations to the issuer. See Chapter 6 – Securities Law Pertaining to Municipal Debt.

SELECT AND PROCURE TEAM MEMBERS – Public agencies often select members of the financing team using a competitive solicitation process. In most cases, the agency defines the scope and terms of service in a request for proposals and then evaluates the proposals received before making a selection.