Southeast

Atlanta closed fiscal 2012 with $126.7 million in its general fund reserves, an increase of more than $119 million since January 2010. The city now plans to tackle critical infrastructure needs.

The University System of Georgia has completed consolidating eight of the state's 35 public colleges and universities to address, in part, the decline in state funding.

The impacts of property tax caps in the Eastern U.S. states are mixed, ranging from minimal to restrictive, according to a recent report from Standard & Poor's.

Investors who hold some of the $4.5 billion of revenue bonds issued for the controversial Prairie State Energy Project can take heart that the project's long-term economics remain favorable for participating public power agencies despite cost overruns, says Moody's Investors Service.

Kentucky and Indiana settle the 2009 federal lawsuit by two nonprofit groups that could have derailed the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project. A second federal complaint is still pending.

Georgia is moving forward with the nearly $1 billion Northwest Corridor Project after changing direction on how to proceed with the project to relieve gridlock in the Atlanta region.

Bank of New York Mellon accelerated about $116 million of toll revenue bonds due to ongoing defaults by Florida's Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority. The trustee said payment on the bonds is due immediately.

Ballard Spahr has promoted public finance attorney Han Choi to be managing partner of the firm's Atlanta office.

Florida does not have capacity to issue a significant amount of new debt within policy guidelines in fiscal 2014, though financial metrics show the state's revenues have recovered better than anticipated.

The South Carolina Alliance to Fix Our Roads has begun to lobby for an increase in the state's motor fuel tax to fund more than $50 billion in needed transportation improvements.