Shanahan & Shanahan LLP provides bond counsel or underwriter's counsel services in the issuance of revenue bonds and other obligations issued by state and local governmental units. Our professionals have worked with cities, villages, towns, counties, park districts, sanitary districts, and special utility districts to acquire, construct or improve water, sewage, solid waste, electric and gas systems.

Shanahan & Shanahan will help issuers with the legal and tax issues that accompany the structuring of these transactions, including: the management of the “waterfall” of funds as they are collected, lien priority on such revenues, negotiation of covenants with interested parties, understanding arbitrage restrictions, advising on refunding requirements, and any other issues that may arise.

In some states revenue bonds may be secured by specific revenues and also the general obligation of the issuer. Issuers of such bonds pledge the alternate revenue source to pay the bonds, but may levy property taxes if that revenue source is inadequate. Such coupling of payment sources results in a lower cost of capital for the issuer. Our professionals have experience with these special “double-barrel” securities and can assist the issuer through the statutory process in states where they are an available source of financing.