Title
Consider and take action on a resolution authorizing a five-year agreement with Hilltop Securities Inc. for municipal advisory services (Director of Finance)
Background:
Approval of this item will authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Hilltop Securities to provide municipal advisory services. Public entities engage municipal advisors to assist in the planning, issuance and monitoring of debt. Municipal advisors work with the City staff to minimize the cost of debt through the proper timing and structure of bond sales. The firm will also work with staff to maximize the City's opportunity for credit rating improvement, further reducing the cost of debt. By monitoring outstanding debt relative to market conditions on an ongoing basis, the municipal advisor will look for opportunities to refund (refinance) that debt at lower interest rates to further reduce costs. An ever-increasing role of the municipal advisor is to assist staff in monitoring federal compliance and reporting issues related to municipal debt.
In July, staff put together a request for proposal for municipal advisory services, specifically focusing on the evaluation criteria and the weight of each performance measure. The following are the evaluation criteria included in the municipal services RFP:
25 points 1) Experience and capability of the firm and its assigned consultants in performing financial advisory services for municipal governments.
20 points 2) Understanding of the City’s financial condition and needs.
20 points 3) Demonstrated competence and provided references on similar or related services.
10 points 4) Cost of Services (lowest bid/other bid x 10 = Proposer’s Price Score).
15 points 5) Experience in providing innovative financing strategies and non-traditional services.
10 points 6) Completeness and responsiveness of proposal.
The City released the RFP for municipal advisory services on July 15th and received three responses. Members of a selection committee, comprised of City staff independently reviewed and evaluated all proposals. To ensure pricing was evaluated consistently and with no subjectivity across all proposals, the Purchasing Department calculated the pricing formula based on a $72.79 M, $18.8 M, $14.6 M, $3.1 M, and $29.81 M bond issuances per the FY2025 Capital Improvement plan and provided the scoring for each proposal.
Ultimately, the committee selected Hilltop Securities as having the best proposal. The majority of the committee found that Hilltop scored much higher in all the criteria over the other proposals, and all committee members are confident in recommending Hilltop to provide the City municipal advisory services for the next five years. Hilltop Securities has an extensive history with this City, as the firm has been our advisors several years in the past and is our current advisor
Attachments:
1. Proposed Resolution
2. Exhibit A - Municipal Advisory Contract
3. Award Recommendation
4. Evaluation Summary Matrix
5. Vendor Report Card - HIlltop Securities 2025
CONTRACT ORIGINATION: Hilltop Securities with review and approval by the City Attorney
FUNDING
{X} Any transactional fees will be deducted from the bond issuance proceeds. If additional services are required, funding in the amount of $3,500 is available in Accounting Professional Services account #1400000-53050 in FY2026, upon Council's approval of the budget.