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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

The money tap is dry

I was just wondering about this.
The Sewerage & Water Board’s cash reserve has dropped to about 106 days' worth of expenses, down from 132 days at the end of January. If the agency allows it to sink below 90 days, it would fall afoul of its bond covenants at year's end, jeopardizing ongoing projects and its ability to sell bonds in the future.

Having heard those figures, Councilwoman Helena Moreno asked the utility’s new finance chief, Yvette Downs, whether she is concerned.

“I am very concerned,” Downs said, adding later, “We also need to be able to pay our vendors.”
Last week, when putting together this post about the possibility of privatization at S&WB, one of the questions I had was about the decision to put this $114 million bond issue on hold.  The above suggests they don't think they have the credit.  Anyway, one of the key reasons both candidates in last year's mayoral election gave for not being too keen on folding the current S&WB entity back into City Hall was they wanted it to retain its independent bonding authority. But what happens when that's not of any use?

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