Sarasota County Debt Management Policy - Resolution 2021-184

Sarasota County Debt Management Policy V. FINANCING TEAM A. FINANCING TEAM SELECTION PROCESS The Board selects the external members of the Debt Management Team, known as the Financing Team on the basis of merit by using a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ). Following an independent review, the internal members of the Debt Management Team will provide recommendations to the Board, as requested, on the selection of Financial Advisors and Underwriters. The Board makes all final determinations and may do so with or without recommendations. B. FINANCIAL ADVISOR The Board will hire a registered Financial Advisor prior to the undertaking of a debt financing. The Financial Advisor has a fiduciary duty to the County and will provide advice on determining the best type of financing for the County, selecting other finance professionals, planning the bond sale, and successfully selling and closing the bond sale. Financial Advisors are required to have comprehensive municipal debt experience, including diverse financial structuring and pricing of municipal securities. The County requires that its Financial Advisor complies with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Rule G-42 or similar standards of conduct for municipal advisors engaging in municipal advisory activities. The County procurement rules allow for the Financial Advisor to assist in the selection of Underwriters for the issuance of bonds or financial institutions/banks for the issuance of bank loans and notes. C. BOND COUNSEL The County retains external Bond Counsel for all debt issues deemed necessary. All debt issued by the County includes a written opinion by Bond Counsel affirming that the County is authorized to issue the debt and determining the debt's federal income tax status. Bond Counsel is engaged by the Office of the County Attorney. The selection criteria include a requirement for comprehensive municipal debt experience. D. DISCLOSURE COUNSEL The County retains external Disclosure Counsel for all public offerings. Disclosure Counsel renders an opinion to the County (and a reliance letter to the Underwriters if requested) in connection with each such offering to the effect that, with certain conditions, nothing came to their attention to indicate the offering document contains any untrue statement of material fact or omits to state any material fact necessary to make the statements in the offering document, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Disclosure Counsel shall provide legal advice to the County to assist it in meeting its secondary market disclosure obligations. Disclosure Counsel is engaged in the same manner as Bond Counsel. 13