Practice Areas: Public Finance

Local Government Financings

How can we pay for it? That is the question asked at every government meeting on new projects. And the answer to that question is – it depends on the project at hand. To choose the best financing vehicle, you need to know all of the options, and recognize what option best suits the unique specifics of your project. You need the counsel of someone who has spent his or her life in government finance.

At McGuireWoods, we’ve assisted local governments in financing all types of public improvements using numerous financing techniques, including:

• traditional general obligation
• revenue bond
• working capital financing
• short-term financings by tax, grant and bond anticipation notes
• non-traditional financings involving conduit issues, regional entities, leases, service contracts, certificates of participation, lease revenue bonds, "moral obligation" contracts, special assessment bonds and special taxing districts

When it comes to local government financings, McGuireWoods not only knows the legislation – we were at the forefront of the initial interpretation of the laws. Since then, we’ve been a leader in developing innovative financing structures for local governments, particularly with respect to public/private partnerships, finance infrastructure, economic development and redevelopment projects.

Our public financing team has experience in the financing of regional projects involving multi-jurisdictional agreements. We’ve served as special tax counsel in taxable and tax-exempt lease financing transactions, and have worked on project financings involving special taxing districts.

For more than 250 counties, cities, towns, service authorities, sanitary districts and other issuing entities of all sizes, we have served as bond counsel on an ongoing basis. In Virginia, these include the counties of Arlington, Roanoke and Stafford; the cities of Alexandria, Norfolk, and Portsmouth; and many smaller localities. In Maryland, these include the counties of Cecil and Charles and the City of Baltimore. In Illinois, public finance clients on completed and pending transactions include the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, the Illinois Finance Authority, and numerous municipalities, school districts and park districts.

We’ve served as bond counsel and underwriters counsel to help finance:

• Public Schools (including Primary and Secondary Schools, as well as Community Colleges)
• Water and Wastewater Systems
• Courthouses
• Correctional and Detention Facilities
• Airports
• Roads and Transportation Facilities
• Parking Facilities
• Solid Waste Disposal Facilities and Landfills
• Office Facilities
• Recreational Facilities (including Parks, Forest Preserves, Open Space and Golf Courses)
• Convention Centers
• Fire and Rescue Facilities and Equipment
• Equipment, Vehicles, Computers, etc.

As underwriter's counsel to national and regional investment banking firms, our firm has assisted in the issuance and remarketing of municipal and other tax-exempt securities for single managers, co-managers and syndicates in transactions by issuers in Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia.