MUNICIPAL FINANCE

As New York State and Local governments are forced to do more with less, Tax-Exempt Municipal Lease Financing has become an increasingly viable option for acquiring essential equipment. This type of agreement allows municipalities to conserve their working capital while purchasing the equipment and facilities they need for government to operate. Over the term of the agreement, the municipality builds equity interest in the assets and retains free and clear ownership when the lease expires. Structured to meet all the requirements of federal, state and local finance laws, the Tax-Exempt Municipal Lease agreement enables lessees to obtain the capital they need to address growth, emergencies, unexpected expenses or project cost overruns.

Advantages Of Leasing

The Tax-Exempt Municipal Lease offers government entities a wide range of benefits when procuring essential assets:

• Low, tax-exempt interest rates that are fixed for the term of the lease.
• Lease payments that are considered a current operating expense, not long-term debt, providing an avenue to ownership that does not create debt obligation.
• An alternative to the high-insurance-cost bond market and the time and complexity of obtaining voter approval for a bond issue.
• Payments are structured to meet your cash flow and budgetary requirements, payable on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual basis.
• A municipality can close on a Tax-Exempt Municipal Lease Agreement in a matter of weeks, instead of the months required for a bond referendum.

Industries Served

The Internal Revenue Code - Section 103 (a) (1) - defines an eligible entity as "any state, territory, or possession or any political subdivision of the foregoing or of the District of Columbia." The most common users are:

• Cities
• Counties
• School Districts
• States
• Townships
• Villages

Types Of Equipment Financed

The list may vary for each municipality; however, here are some examples of essential-use assets:

• Fire Apparatus: Tankers, ladder trucks and tower trucks
• Utility Vehicles: Snow plows, bulldozers and backhoes
• Office Equipment: Computers, servers and phone systems
• Loose Equipment: Defibrillators, generators and 911 systems
• School Equipment: Buses, playground equipment and furniture
• Hospital Equipment: Sonogram, X-ray and cardiogram machines
• Energy Performance Contracts

Contact Information