Shreveport, Louisiana, Mayor Adrian Perkins asked the City Council to approve a special April election for $206.685 million of general obligation bonds in four referendums.
The Council said Tuesday that it will take the matter under discussion and is expected to hold a formal vote soon on whether to put the GOs before voters on Saturday, April 24.
Proposition No. 1 asks voters to approve or reject $88.48 million of bonds that would be issued to pay for improving streets, highways, bridges, drainage and water systems.
Proposition No. 2 asks voters to approve or reject a $76.705 million bond issue to pay for improving police and fire department facilities and equipment.
Proposition No. 3 asks voters to approve or reject a $22 million bond deal for parks and recreation facilities and public transportation.
Proposition No. 4 asks voters to approve or reject $19.5 million of bonds for its office of economic development and purposes, such as an industrial park and workforce development facilities.
All bonds would be general obligations of the city and payable from ad valorem taxes.
Last November, Shreveport voters rejected a $186 million of bonds in referendums for funding of water and sewer projects, police and fire buildings and streets and highways.
"This bond proposal is almost identical to the previous one," Perkins was quoted by KTBS.com as telling the Council on Tuesday. "But we did make minor adjustments in listening to the citizens after the previous 2019 bond proposal. Many of those suggestions include making a more robust office of economic development."
Last March, Moody's Investors Service lowered Shreveport's unlimited tax GO rating to Baa1 from A3, affecting $150.3 million in outstanding debt and gave a negative outlook to the credit.
Moody’s said its downgrade reflected the deterioration of general fund and debt service fund reserves, continued narrow liquidity, elevated fixed costs driven by increasing pension contributions. This was balanced with the city’s large tax base and the presence of universities, an air force base and state government offices.
The negative outlook represents Moody’s expectation that "the city’s budget will remain pressured, leading to lower reserves given increased pension contributions and a limited ability to raise revenues."
Last February, S&P Global Ratings cut its long-term and underlying ratings on Shreveport's GOs to triple-B-plus from A and gave the credit a negative outlook.
"The downgrade reflects our view that management has not been able to reverse structural imbalance between revenues and expenditures that has been pressuring the city's budget for several years," S&P said at the time, adding, the negative outlook reflects the city's ongoing challenge to balance operations and rising pension costs.
