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<br />Fiscal Opportunities Facing <br />The City of La Porte <br />Page 3 of 4 <br /> <br />We are developing Economic Development Strategies such as: <br />o Protect and Maintain Existing Companies; <br />o Promote La Porte; <br />o Renovation of Sylvan Beach Pavilion <br />o Completion of Municipal Golf Course <br />o Market the City; and <br />o Adoption. of the Southeast Economic Development Target <br />Plan. <br />Other assets the City has include: <br />o An Airport Master Plan. <br />o A positive and progressive City Council with adopted <br />written goals and objectives. <br />o A management philosophy that La Porte, Texas is a <br />municipal corporation. <br />The pursuit of these objectives often involves the issuance of <br />debt which enables a City to undertake capital-intensive <br />projects. Bonds provide capital at low interest rates, and allows <br />local governments to extend repayment costs over the life of the <br />benefits generated from the projects. The ability of a city to <br />finance. projects with bonds is limited, and mistakes can be <br />devastating to a community's financial health. Overlooking a <br />legal requirement can nullify a bond; incorrectly or improperly <br />marketing a bond issue can result in limited investors, and a <br />poorly designed debt instrument can strap a community with high <br />interest rates for a long period of time. <br />This must be accomplished at the same time the City meets its <br />maintenance and operation needs. Therefore, staff has dedicated <br />itself to giving 100 of itself to developing a realistic, <br />workable budget with a responsible tax rate. A responsible tax <br />rate is one which meets the maintenance and operational needs of <br />the City while satisfying a tax levy needed to the retirement of <br />debt. <br />