Get the Financing You Need

Municipal Advisory Services

for California’s cities, water and wastewater agencies, and fire departments

  • Develop financing plan
  • Select optimal financing tools
  • Get your project funded
Schedule Free Consultation
Ridgeline is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as a municipal advisor.
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A photo of Del Mar Village in California on ocean shore - Ridgeline works with California communities on financial planning and financing for infrastructure and facilities
Do you need to finance a project?
Let’s face it, project financing can be daunting – municipal bonds, bank loans, private placements, leases… Which one is the best? Can we afford it? How do we get it? Where do we even start?

You need to educate your staff and electeds, figure out collateral, credit rating, bond documents, covenants, continuing disclosure… How do you make sure that you are getting the right financing, fair terms, and not being taken advantage of? A small mistake can cost you tens of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.  

This is where Ridgeline can help. We are a registered municipal advisor – your fiduciary and always act in your best interest. We guide you through the financing process, prepare the financing plan, help select the right financing tools, and get your project funded.  

Our team members have facilitated more than 150 municipal debt issues that generated over $1 billion in proceeds for public infrastructure and facilities, such city halls and admin buildings, police and fire stations, treatment facilities and pipelines, parks and transit facilities, fire engines and street sweepers, even freeway interchanges.  

With us, you can expect clear and straightforward advice tailored specifically for your agency. We can help you get the financing you need.

Cut Through Complexity
We help you navigate the financing process and make sure that things don’t fall through the cracks. You will know what is going on every step of the way.
Financing You Need
We help you select and secure the right financing for your agency and project.
Advice You Can Trust
We are on your side and act in your best interest. Debt should not be the first tool to reach for. We help you assess other funding sources to minimize how much you need to borrow.
Ready to discuss your financing needs?
Schedule Free Consultation
Our Clients Speak
“Ridgeline became a big part of our team. They keep the momentum going and pay attention to a thousand details on our behalf, ensuring that we can go to sleep at night.”
Don Reynolds, City Manager
City of
San Juan Bautista
“We have used Ridgeline multiple times, each time with excellent results. We value their experience, knowledge, and professionalism, and will absolutely turn to them again in the future.”
Tom Neisler, General Manager
Tehachapi-Cummings
County Water District
“Ridgeline peeled away the onion, took a complicated situation and boiled it down. They educated our board and became an advocate for fiscally sound practices without making it sound like the world was crashing.”
Don Butz, Fire Chief
Lakeside Fire
Protection District
Working with Ridgeline You Get
  • Personal Service
  • Unbiased and Conflict-Free Advice
  • Attention to Detail
  • Proven Project Financing Record
  • Step-by-Step Guidance
  • History of Financing Innovation
  • 30+ Years of Industry Experience
  • Advanced Financial Planning Support
  • Focus on Fiscal Strength over Debt Issuance
  • Risk Mitigation and Credit Enhancement Strategy
  • Expert Support Every Step of the Way
Ready to discuss your financing needs?
Schedule Free Consultation
We will guide you through issuing

California’s public agencies have access to a wide variety of financing tools for infrastructure, facilities, and equipment. Capital projects financing allows for timely construction (especially valuable when inflation is high), cash flow predictability, and allocation of costs to their beneficiaries. To help attract private investment into public infrastructure, the U.S. tax code allows for many public projects to be financed with lower tax-exempt interest rates.

  • general obligation bonds
  • water/wastewater revenue bonds
  • certificates of participation
  • lease purchase agreements
  • tax increment / tax allocation bonds
  • Mello-Roos CFD bonds
  • pension obligation bonds
  • housing revenue bonds
  • assessment district bonds
  • bank loans
  • lines of credit
  • government loans (USDA, SRF, WIFIA)
  • equipment leases
  • Tax, Revenue, Bond, and Grant Anticipation Notes (TANs, RANs, BANs, and GANs)
Debt Planning and Issuance

We support you on every step of the municipal bond issuance process:

  • Financing plan development
  • Refunding opportunities assessment
  • Borrowing capacity calculation
  • Staff and governing body education
  • Financing team selection
  • Financing alternatives and risk assessment
  • Method of sale, timing, sizing, and structure guidance
  • Credit rating strategy and support
  • Official statement and documentation review
  • Credit enhancement evaluation
  • Pricing strategy development
  • Financing transaction management
Post-Issuance Support

Municipal debt comes with extensive continuing disclosure and regulatory reporting obligations. We help you stay compliant by preparing and filing on EMMA and with CDIAC:

  • Annual continuing disclosure reports
  • Notices of material events
  • Debt service coverage and rate covenant calculations
  • Annual debt transparency reports
  • Marks-Roos and Mello-Roos yearly fiscal status reports

We also assist with monitoring of credit ratings and staff compliance training.

Ready to discuss your financing needs?
Schedule Free Consultation
Municipal Financing Guide for California’s Public Agencies

California’s public agencies have access to a wide variety of financing tools for infrastructure, facilities, and equipment. Capital projects financing allows for timely construction (especially valuable when inflation is high), cash flow predictability, and allocation of costs to their beneficiaries. To help attract private investment into public infrastructure, the U.S. tax code allows for many public projects to be financed with lower tax-exempt interest rates.

Long-Term Financing
Municipal bonds are often used for major projects with a long-term repayment period of up to 30-40 years. Private placements, or bank loans, can be an attractive alternative to municipal bonds for smaller projects with shorter repayment terms. Subsidized government loans can help fill in the gaps left by the private markets.

  • General Obligation Bonds are secured by taxing power and require voter approval. They fund fire and police stations, parks, libraries, and schools, with debt service paid through property tax assessments.
  • Revenue Bonds are issued by self-supporting enterprise funds to finance water and wastewater, solid waste, transportation, housing, and other revenue-generating projects and systems. The financing amount is limited by revenue capacity and debt-service coverage ratios, while the debt service is covered by user fees.
  • Lease-Purchase Agreements and Certificates of Participation facilitate project financing without having to obtain voter approval. An asset, such as a building or a vehicle, is pledged as collateral under a lease agreement, with lease payments covering the debt repayment. This type of financing is widely used for most types of municipal projects, including city halls and administrative buildings, fire and police stations, community centers and libraries, schools and parks, courthouses and solar power generation, vehicles and technology.
  • Assessment and Special District Bonds fund local and regional infrastructure and facilities, such as streets, utilities, schools, libraries, public safety, parks, etc. The debt service is funded by property assessments and special taxes. Funding structures include Assessment Districts, Landscape and Lighting Districts, and Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts.
  • Tax Increment / Tax Allocation Bonds are used to stimulate economic development. As property values rise, the increased property taxes, or the tax increment, repay the bonds. With the traditional tax increment financing now limited in California, this mechanism is evolving into Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs) and similar structures.
  • Pension Obligation Bonds can help reduce public pension costs and improve cash flow and budgetary flexibility by taking advantage of the difference between a pension plan’s discount rate and municipal market interest rates. This financing is highly complicated, but limited revenue options and increasing unfunded pension liabilities make it an important tool for many agencies.
  • Government Loans offer lower interest rates for water and wastewater projects, solid waste, transportation, fire and police stations, city halls, hospitals, etc., but often come with a long application process and cumbersome conditions. Some loans may include a grant component. Typical programs include the State Revolving Fund (SRF), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), and the Transportation Infrastructure and Innovation Act (TIFIA).



Short-Term Financing
Short-term notes and lines of credit can help cover temporary cash flow deficits or working capital needs, or act as an interim funding source until permanent debt can be issued.

  • Tax anticipation notes (TANs), bond anticipation notes (BANs), revenue anticipation notes (RANs), and grant anticipation notes (GANs) are repaid with the funds in anticipation of which they were issued, as well as with any other funds legally available.
  • Lines of Credit are an alternative to short-term notes and can be a flexible source of bridge financing. They are typically secured with enterprise fund revenues or take on a form of the general fund obligation.