Karen is a senior reporter covering the Southwest. She has covered the municipal bond market for more than 30 years at The Bond Buyer and Reuters. Prior to that she wrote about futures and options markets for magazines and was an award-winning reporter for a suburban Chicago newspaper chain.
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The outlook revision to negative from stable for the system's revenue bond ratings was spurred by expense-increasing moves in the fiscal 2027 budget.
August 12 -
Revenue from the 0.4% tax would be earmarked for debt service and operating funding for a jail to replace the county's troubled detention facility.
August 12 -
The Texas city plans to bring general obligation bonds, certificates of obligation and tax notes to market later this month.
August 6 -
The Texas city's general obligation rating was lifted to Aa2 with a stable outlook from Aa3 based on "meaningful" moves taken in its fiscal 2027 budget.
August 5 -
The city moved to a less-restrictive Stage 2 drought status for water use in another sign after recent rain that a water supply emergency is no longer imminent.
August 4 -
The Texas city will offer $540.55 million of senior lien and $122.45 million of junior lien special tax revenue bonds to investors this week.
August 4 -
The Oklahoma Council of Bond Oversight approved up to $2.9 billion of bonds to continue financing of a turnpike expansion program and to refund outstanding debt.
July 30 -
Jefferson County School District R-1's lawsuit comes after the U.S. Department of Education threatened to withhold federal funding over transgender policies.
July 29 -
Beneficial rainfall allowed the Texas city to move its timeline for a projected water supply emergency to September 2028 from the same month in 2027.
July 28 -
School districts face competition from a state-funded voucher program and financial challenges that in some cases have led to negative rating actions.
July 28 -
Water infrastructure projects in the 2027 plan are aimed at accommodating projected population growth and addressing dwindling supplies.
July 24 -
The Texas city needs higher rates in part to support future debt that would be issued for $1.1 billion of water supply projects that are underway.
July 22 -
The Texas city's $943.9 million airport revenue bond issue will provide long-term financing for an expansion plan and refund some outstanding debt.
July 21 -
The state's Republican governor and legislative leaders ordered 3% cuts for the next biannual budget as they announced their priorities for the 2027 session.
July 16 -
The city's issuer rating was raised a notch to Aaa and ratings for other debt, including for its water and wastewater utility system, were also upgraded.
July 14 -
Increased use and size of the economic development tool led to the exemption of about $1.1 billion in property taxes between 2010 and 2024.
July 14 -
The combined utility system's commercial paper program capacity was increased to $1.5 billion and an up to $345 million cash flow borrowing was set for August.
July 8 -
The appointment of Don Huffines, a former state senator who won the March 3 Republican primary election for comptroller, takes effect Aug. 1.
July 7 -
Some Southwest states and local governments are reassessing data center developments amid public backlash and litigation against the proliferating projects.
July 7 -
The rating agency confirmed the Texas city's A1 bond ratings, ending a review for potential downgrade spurred by an impending water supply crisis.
July 2
