Item 18 - Pension Dept Refinancing Bound Counsel, Disclosure Councel and Court Validation Services

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CITY OF SANTA ANA RFP No. 20-160 BOND AND VALIDATION COUNCEL SERVICES Page 3 of 26 I. INTRODUCTION The City of Santa Ana (City) provides its employees with pension benefits through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The City’s CalPERS liability has increased dramatically over the past few years, increasing to $709.9 million as of the most recent valuation, June 30, 2019. Urban Futures, Inc., (UFI) was hired to work with City staff in evaluating potential funding solutions and developing a recommendation strategy to address the UAL. The City has developed a comprehensive management plan, which considers multiple options, including the sale of Pension Obligation Bonds (POBs). II. PROJECT PURPOSE The City of Santa Ana (the City) is currently accepting proposals from interested bond and validation counsel firms in connection with the potential issuance of 2021 Pension Obligation Bonds (2021 POBs). The City is interested in retaining one firm to provide both validation and bond counsel services, which are expected to be sized to fund a portion of the UAL - approximately $709.9 million. III. SCOPE OF SERVICES The City of Santa Ana is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to serve as the City’s bond and validation counsel in connection to the issuance of pension obligation bonds and intends to award a professional services contract for the defined scope of work detailed in this Request for Proposal. The firm selected as bond and validation counsel will be required to have the capabilities to perform the following services including, but not limited to:  Provide necessary legal documents related to the financing and validation.  Participating in meetings (presentations) to the City Council, City Staff, and court if necessary.  Assisting in the review of the official statement (OS) and disclosure documents.  Participating in the rating strategy and credit package for submittal to the rating agency(s) for the proposed issue.  Providing assistance in closing the bond issue. The above list is not meant to constitute an exhaustive list of duties. The awarded Firm may be called upon to provide other services not identified here in connection with a particular transaction. In addition, the City expects bond counsel, to conduct such review as is necessary to attain a reasonable basis for belief in the accuracy and completeness of the key representations in the Official Statement. IV. TERM OF AGREEMENT The term of the agreement is for two (2) years. The City may, at its discretion, extend the agreement with the same or more limited scope of required services for up to two (2) additional one-year term, contingent upon direction of the City Manager.