Boston intends to come to market this week with a roughly $140 million sale of Series 2016A new-money general obligation bonds and an $8.1 million refunding.
First Southwest is financial advisor for the competitive sale. Locke Lord LLP is bond counsel.
Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's rate the city triple-A, both with stable outlooks.
The new-money bonds will fund various city capital projects while Series B will advance refund part of Series 2007A bonds. According to Moody's, Boston expects present net savings of $982,000, or 9.6% of refunded par with no extension of maturity.
Maturity on the new-money bonds is through 2036, according to the city's preliminary official statement.
Moody's cited the financial stability of Boston, the population-646,000 capital of Massachusetts and the financial engine of New England, and its "large and growing tax base with economic diversity bolstered by significant government, higher education and health-care sectors."
Two months ago, Fortune 500 behemoth General Electric Co. said it would relocate its headquarters from Fairfield, Conn., to Boston. Moody's at the time called the news a credit positive for the city, citing $47.5 million in new growth among its $128 billion tax base and a 15.6% increase in total assessed value in 2016.
Also in January, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn struck a deal in which the city dropped its efforts to stop a casino in neighboring Everett in exchange for $68 million in mitigation funds over 15 years. Wynn, however, has postponed groundbreaking indefinitely officials in neighboring Somerville object to a key environmental permit.
S&P expects that Boston will maintain a strong debt and liability profile.
"Debt service costs, as well as pension and other post-employment benefit costs, should remain manageable within the current operating environment," said S&P analyst Victor Medeiros. "For these reasons, we do not anticipate changing the rating during the next two years."
