County Commission update

No time to elaborate -- hope to get time this weekend to provide you with a full report -- but the Curtis Killman's story (continued here) in the Whirled did a good job of capturing the essence of the meeting. The quotes from the former Mayor of Edmond are interesting:

Authority member Bob Dick said there was a "great deal of value with having a team that understands the government they are serving." But not all with experience in selling bonds believe sticking with past practices is always the best decision. Edmond city officials discovered they could save money in bond issuance costs if they considered proposals from other firms.

Former Edmond Mayor Randel Shadid, now a private attorney, said his city saved "a bunch of money" when officials decided in the early 1990s to test the market prior to issuing bonds.

Like Tulsa County, the Oklahoma City suburb for years used the same bond counsel and bond adviser. Shadid said "there are plenty of people out there that can provide those services that have the expertise. I guarantee you when you get them into a bidding war, it's a feeding frenzy."

How does that Lending Tree slogan go? "When banks compete, you win."

A browse through bondbuyer.com revealed that there are a number of other Oklahoma firms that serve as financial advisors and bond counsel on local government bond issues.

With at least half-a-billion to be financed, it would only take a tiny difference in interest rates and fees to make a huge difference to the bottom line. While I understand the desire to work with a familiar team, I'm disappointed that none of the commissioners chose to pursue competitive bidding for investment banking services.

More later.