Tulsa, Oklahoma, sold $47 million in bonds to finance construction projects in the city.
The bonds mature between 2026 and 2032, yielding between 2.61% and 3.6%. They received a rating of Aa1 from Moody’s Investors Service and AA from S&P Global Ratings.
“The Aa1 issuer rating incorporates the city’s conservative financial management which has led to strong fund balance and liquidity ratios despite a reliance on economically sensitive revenue, and a diverse economy that serves as a hub for the surrounding region,” Moody’s analysts wrote.
Despite its role as an anchor for northeast Oklahoma, Tulsa’s economy has grown slower than state and national averages for the past decade. Tulsa’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 1.4% annually between 2011 and 2021, while Oklahoma’s grew by an average of 1.5% and the country’s rose by 2.1% per year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Slower economic growth can mean less money for bond issuances that fund necessary upgrades to city infrastructure.
The bond proceeds will fund improvements to the city’s infrastructure, parks, and public safety. Tulsa issued an additional $64 million in bonds for the same purpose last December. In August of last year, the city authorized an $814 million infrastructure improvement package, about half of which will be funded by general obligation bonds.
Tulsa is the second-most populous city in Oklahoma. The bonds are general obligations of the city, backed by its full faith and credit and payable by property taxes. Tulsa now has $420 million in general obligation debt outstanding.
Robert W. Baird & Co served as underwriter on the issuance.