Water & Wastewater Rate Study & Bond Feasibility Study – The City owns and operates a municipal water and wastewater system providing utility services to both residential and nonresidential customers within the City limits as well as surrounding unincorporated areas.  As a result of being located in a high growth area of the State, and due to aging infrastructure and utility facilities, the City was in need of a 10 year rate plan than would incorporate the funding of future capital expenditures.  UAN recently completed a comprehensive cost of service rate analysis for the City.  The project involved designing an equitable rate structure that is consistent with utility industry standards and meets the future capital funding objectives of the utility.  The study included the development of a 10-year projection of operating results in order to provide a strategic planning tool for estimating future revenue needs and rate impacts.  In addition, the study included a thorough review and analysis of the City’s connection fees (i.e. capacity fees) that are intended to recover the capital costs associated with major system facilities (i.e. treatment plants, force main, pumping and disposal facilities, etc).  In addition, Mr. Parker developed a bond feasibility report in support of a revenue bond issuance in the amount of $98,000,000.  A sizable portion of the bond issue included the use of Build America Bonds (BABs), which are a new debt instrument created by the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act that provide a direct Federal subsidy paid to the City in an amount equal to 35% of the interest.  This resulted in an effective interest rate of less than 3.0%.