Just in time for Richardson's 2010 Bond Election, William "Bill" McCalpin authors another primer on an aspect of city government with his Unofficial Guide to Municipal Bonds. What is a municipal bond? What is a bond rating? Why does a city have bond elections? What does Texas State Law say about municipal bonds?

The Richardson Echo is happy to publish this piece in time for the May 8, 2010 Richardson City Bond election. McCalpin performed excellent research and provides links to The State of Texas website that leads to State Law and some Attorney General's opinions.

"Municipal bonds elections are a fact of life for residents of cities in Texas, but most residents have little or no idea how the process of approving and issuing bonds works," McCalpin stated, "I was surprised myself at how much I didn't know as I researched information on the bond process for this Unofficial Guide, and I hope that at least understanding the mechanics of how bonds work will help Richardson residents as they go to the polls both for this bond election and in the future."

The Unofficial Guide is divided into six parts.

The first section describes a Bond and what it might be used for. Next he describes the types of Bonds that a city may issue according to Texas State Law.

We have all heard of Bond ratings by Standard and Poor's and Moody's. McCalpin gives his explanation of them and gives the ratings of not only Richardson but other local cities.

In a more Richardson-centric section, he describes how a General Obligation bond is issued by the City of Richardson and what steps are taken. In this section he takes up the issue of taxation, or no taxation.

Bonds are issued for somewhat specific purposes. Can that purpose be changed? Sometimes "Yes" and sometimes "No" so says Texas State Law and the Attorney General. McCalpin deals with that in yet another section with links of State of Texas opinion.

McCalpin's Unofficial Guide to Municipal Bonds can be found HERE. As usual we welcome any comments.