Shelly Sigo

Bank of New York Mellon said Friday that it will stop payments on Jefferson County, Ala.'s defaulted sewer warrants, and will seek court approval to accelerate payment of outstanding principal.

Gov. Rick Scott upped his spending and borrowing plans for 2014 proposing Florida's largest ever annual budget at $74.2 billion along with $730 million of bonds for transportation projects.

The Florida Department of Transportation is forging ahead with its biggest public-private partnership to date: a $2.1 billion managed-lanes venture dubbed the Interstate 4 Ultimate Project.

In Lexington, Ky., elected officials and union representatives may have set the stage for a new level of dialogue on how to solve unfunded pension liabilities using a public process and consensus to overhaul the city's police and fire pension system.

Word has surfaced that Los Angeles may make an offer for the Atlanta Falcons. The news comes as the Falcons are trying to negotiate for a new $1 billion stadium.

Miami-Dade County approved a resolution last week supporting a plan for public taxes to pay half the $400 million cost of upgrading the stadium where the NFL's Miami Dolphins play.

Citing fiscal imbalances, Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded the implied general obligation of the Marion County School Board in north-central Florida to A-plus from AA-minus.

The new sewer rate structure recently approved by Jefferson County, Ala., commissioners is an interim plan that can be altered as creditors negotiate a settlement to restructure more than $3 billion of defaulted debt, the county said.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Finance Corp. is preparing to sell up to $2 billion of taxable notes this spring for liquidity to pay claims, if needed.

The Florida Department of Transportation is proposing a network of regional transportation toll authorities that would take some financing pressure off the state and move projects forward.

Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service said the decision by the Florida Supreme Court upholding legislation requiring that employees contribute to the Florida Retirement System is positive for state and local governments.

The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday tentatively scheduled oral arguments in the appeal involving Jefferson County, Ala.'s sewer system receiver for the week of June 3. Creditors have appealed a ruling that stripped the receiver of the right to run the county's sewer system.

Moody's Investors Service placed tobacco settlement revenue bonds of issuers in 17 states and two territories under review with direction uncertain because of legal settlement announced in December. The action affects $20.5 billion of debt.

A ruling by the Florida Supreme Court last week upholding the state's pension reform measures is a positive credit factor, according to Standard & Poor's.

Public Financial Management Inc. has hired veteran Georgia banker Dick Layton as a director in the firm's financial advisory practice in Atlanta.

Faced with decreased state funding, Kentucky's eight public universities are asking the state for permission to issue their own bonds for pent-up capital needs.

Valarie Williams, director of the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority, has been appointed to an Advisory Council of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is seeking public input on 20-year plan that will create a strategy for improving the state’s transportation systems.

A win by the Atlanta Falcons against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday could go a long way toward advancing the team’s quest for a new stadium, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal hinted.

Florida's Miami Dolphins have renewed a proposal for public funding to help pay for upgrading their 25-year-old football stadium, which they hope will win the 50th Super Bowl game in 2016.