Far West

California city and county officials Thursday laid out the budgetary silver linings that exist amid the dark cloud of the financial crisis that has rained hard on municipalities.

DETROIT — Independent financial ­advisers meeting here Thursday questioned the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Martha Mahan Haines about which advisers must register with the SEC under the new regulatory reform law, while Haines announced that the agency will hold its next field hearing on munis in Chicago on Nov. 16.

California's ratio of debt service to general fund revenue will exceed 7% in fiscal 2011, Treasurer Bill Lockyer said in his annual Debt Affordability Report.

The Rancho California Water District will issue $101 million in Build America Bonds next week to fund capital improvements.

San Jose's auditor said in a recent report that the city is $2 billion short of meeting its $5.4 billion in liabilities for guaranteed pension benefits for current and retired employees.

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan delivered a shot across the bow to the city's employees when he unveiled his proposed 2011 budget Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON — The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is set to kick off a series of public hearings next week on its preliminary draft pension-fund accounting and financial reporting standards that are designed to boost the disclosure of public pension liabilities but are proving to be controversial.

WASHINGTON — Municipal market participants should not expect the Treasury Department to simply rubber-stamp the existing tax-exempt bond rules for issue price when it comes to Build America Bonds, a Treasury official told bond lawyers at a recent meeting.

SAN FRANCISCO — Industry experts echoed concerns Wednesday about regulatory changes in the municipal bond industry and the possible impact the changes may have in the coming weeks and months.

SAN FRANCISCO — If Thursday’s scheduled votes on a California budget are successful, the state hopes to be in the market with up to $10 billion of revenue anticipation notes sometime in November, Treasurer Bill Lockyer said Wednesday.