City Of Oskaloosa Given High Financial Mark
Oskaloosa City Hall
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa City Council on Monday night found out that the City of Oskaloosa is in sound financial shape according to a rating from Moody’s.
The rating company examined the financial books of the city, giving the community a Aa3 Rating. “The Aa3 rating incorporates the city’s modestly sized and stable tax base in central Iowa (Aaa stable); healthy financial metrics highlighted by ample reserve levels and strong operating history; manageable debt burden; and above average unfunded pension liabilities.”
The council heard about the auction that had taken place on Monday for the ability to purchase the 4 million dollars in bonds from the City. Piper Jaffray & Co. of Kansas City, Missouri was the winning bidder with a purchase price of $4,326,558.90 at 2.3342% interest rate.
The Council approved the sale of the bonds. They also approved the plans, specification, form of contract, and estimated cost for the fire department renovation.
Also Monday night, the Council passed a motion to receive and file the Oskaloosa community’s Branding, Development, and Marketing Action Plan.
During the opening public comment section of the evening, a half-dozen individuals spoke in favor of the proposed action plan which was released to the public the last week of July.
Karen Hafner, Main Street Director, spoke about the plan her group has worked to develop. Hafner said the brand leadership team, which consists of 17 people, have “given up hours and hours of their time” to develop a brand they believe will enhance Oskaloosa.
“We are not trying to change the history of Oskaloosa, we just want to add to the history of Oskaloosa,” Hafner said during her comments to the Council.
Aaron Riggs, a Brand Leadership Team member, said that he hopes the plan will help keep young people in the community; help them to stay local, where they will not only work in the community, but will have fun and be entertained in the community.
“I hope our town will remain relevant in a changing world, which could mean making some modifications and updates to our town square,” said Riggs. He asked if the space could be made more functional and more modern, “more applicable to today’s standards for concerts and events.”
Make changes, “but do so in a way that respects the history and historical icons that are there now,” said Riggs. “I want to maintain the historical elements of Oskaloosa, but make sure we are also adapting to the demands of our diverse and expanding community.”
The Council accepted the document from the Branding Committee, but took no action on it.
