In a press conference to announce the arrival of the city’s overdue audit for the 2004 fiscal year, Mayor Jerry Sanders said the city government is still on track to meet its goal of reaching the public bond markets by the end of the summer.
The city has been barred from Wall Street, where loans to finance big-ticket expenses such as construction projects are cheaper, since 2004, when its credit ratings were slashed and its power to borrow was suspended. Financial ratings agencies cut the city off from the public markets after it was discovered that the government’s bookkeeping practices led to a rash of misstatements.
After the city received its 2003 audit this March from KPMG, Sanders estimated that the government could reach Wall Street again once it received certification of its 2005 audit, which he slated for late summer.
He updated his timeline again Monday, saying he expects Macias Gini & O’Connell to release the 2005 audit within 90 days, or approximately in late August. Around the same time, credit-rating agencies will update the city’s grades, Sanders said.
“We’re making great progress,” Sanders said.
As for subsequent audits, Sanders said he expects the 2006 audit to be issued near the end of November, and the 2007 statements to be released in February 2008.