Indiana

CHICAGO - Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard unveiled what he called the triple-A rated city's tightest budget in years, offsetting falling revenue by dipping into funds from the city's lucrative downtown tax increment finance district.

Fitch Ratings last week affirmed its AAA rating and stable outlook on Indianapolis.

CHICAGO - Citizens Energy Group, a nonprofit utility, will enter the market next week with up to $1 billion of new-money and refunding tax-exempt bonds to finance the purchase of Indianapolis' water and sewer systems.

State Budget Solutions, a national budget watchdog group, gave Indiana its “Reality Check” award and Gov. Mitch Daniels its “Real Leader” award for the state’s budgeting process and increased fiscal stability.

CHICAGO - In a nice surprise, Indiana ended fiscal 2011 with $1.18 billion in its reserves, around $1 billion more than expected.

CHICAGO - Indiana University, a triple-A rated credit, will hit the market Thursday with $96 million of student-fee revenue bonds to finance construction of a neuroscience building.

Local governments will soon be able to post their budgets online as part of Indiana's effort to boost transparency and public access to information.

Gov. Mitch Daniels Wednesday will tour three Indiana cities to mark the five-year anniversary of Major Moves, the largest infrastructure program in the state's history, which was financed in part with the $3.8 billion Indiana Toll Road lease.

Bloomington plans to issue $13 million of revenue bonds to finance the acquisition of 12 acres of downtown property from Indiana University. The city hopes to then sell the land to a developer for residential and retail projects.

The Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority, a quasi-governmental organization that promotes public transit, said last week that it has launched a petition drive to support local funding options for public transportation.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard last week announced a plan to build a $15 million parking garage financed in part with proceeds from the $20 million the city received by leasing its parking meters for 50 years. The city last week announced the selection of a developer and operator of the new mixed-use parking development. The lot will have 350 spaces, retail space, and a police substation.

Standard & Poor's last week affirmed the state's prized AAA rating, and fiscal officials announced that recent revenue figures continue to exceed expectations. A new national report, meanwhile, notes that the Hoosier State's economy saw the third-largest growth rate last year, driven by a recovery in manufacturing.

CHICAGO — Indiana’s Purdue University, one of the nation’s few higher education institutions with a triple-A rating, will price $45 million of refunding student facility system revenue bonds Tuesday.

CHICAGO — The Gary school district is warning that Indiana’s refusal to allow the district to levy a new tax for debt service payments will lead to teacher layoffs and other classroom cuts.

CHICAGO — Indiana legislators last week passed a $28 billion two-year general fund budget and several bond-related bills but failed to pass a controversial measure allowing fiscally distressed municipalities to file for bankruptcy.

Indiana lawmakers will debate whether to allow municipalities to enter into bankruptcy as they hammer out final differences to a bill passed by both chambers but stripped of the Chapter 9 option by the House.

CHICAGO — Indiana University Health Inc., the state’s largest health care system, on Monday will price $228.2 million of variable-rate bonds in the first of three borrowings that will total nearly $800 million.

CHICAGO — Indianapolis is set to come to market in the next few weeks with $58 million of water bonds even as it enters the final stages of selling its system to a nonprofit private utility.

CHICAGO — Indiana’s governor would have sole power to create new toll roads and enter into public-private partnerships for highway projects under a bill already passed by the Senate and expected to be considered by a House subcommittee as early as Wednesday.

CHICAGO — Indiana is considering increasing its pension contribution levels over the next two years to bolster the funded ratios of state-supported pension plans to past high levels that were considered a top credit strength for the triple-A rated state.