Shreveport Hires New Financial Adviser

The City of Shreveport has hired a new financial adviser.  

TKG & Associates is an independent municipal advisory firm based in Houston, Texas, that's been in business since 1987.  It was founded by Charlotte Knight-Marshall, who attended Southern University-Shreveport and is a graduate of Southern University-New Orleans.  She and her senior consultant, Janice Davis, appeared before the Shreveport City Council at its work session this afternoon to talk about their experience and answer council questions.

TKG will provide financial advice and services as the city moves forward with the sale of $75-million worth of water and sewer bonds and the remaining $93.5-million from the 2011 general obligation bond issue. Proceeds from the water and sewer bonds will be used to pay for improvements, extensions, and replacements to the city's aging water and sewer utility system.  The general obligation bonds would fund the remaining projects in the $175-million 2011 bond issue, many of which have been designed but lack the funding needed for construction.

The firm will also work with the city's bonding attorneys to look for refunding opportunities that could possibly save the city millions of dollars in interest payments on previous bond sales.

Shreveport has been without the services of a financial adviser since the city council had a falling-out with Calvin Grigsby and Associates.  The council has sued Grigsby, claiming he overcharged the city $53,000 for services he provided in the sale of the first round of 2011 general obligation bonds.  That issue is still pending in Caddo District Court.

In the photo, that's Knight-Marshall on the left and Davis on the right.