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Balch Partner Frank Long Quoted by The Bond Buyer, served as Bond Counsel for Award-Winning Jefferson County Refinancing Deal

Frank Long, partner in the firm’s Birmingham office and member of the Public Finance Practice, was quoted by The Bond Buyer in its article about the publication’s Southeast Region Deal of the Year. Frank served as bond counsel for the deal, Jefferson County’s Series 2024 sewer warrant refinancing, which is also a finalist for the national Deal of the Year.

Jefferson County, Alabama refinanced $2.24 billion in sewer revenue warrants, resulting in gross savings of $1.17 billion. This significantly reduced the County’s sewer debt payments without extending the term of the debt. The refinancing also provides for a customer assistance program to assist low-income sewer ratepayers. 

Frank was quoted in an article in The Bond Buyer about the deal, describing how the county strategically held both one-on-one and group investor meetings to attract interest in the deal. 

“For at least two days, several commissioners, the county manager, the county chief financial officer, the county attorney, the county director of environmental services, bond counsel, disclosure counsel, feasibility consultants, senior managers and financial advisors were present either in person in a conference room in the county courthouse or via video to meet with 20-plus individual investors and present information and answer questions regarding the county, the sewer system and the transaction,” Frank was quoted as saying.

The Bond Buyer Deal of the Year Awards, now in their 23rd year, recognize outstanding achievement in municipal finance. The publication said its editorial board “considered a range of factors when judging entries, including creativity, the ability to pull a complex transaction together under challenging conditions, the ability to serve as a model for other financings, and the public purpose for which a deal's proceeds were used.”

Frank’s practice focuses primarily on areas of municipal and public finance. He routinely serves as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, borrower’s counsel, bank counsel, and disclosure counsel on complex public finance transactions. Frank has extensive experience in the financing of pollution control and solid waste disposal facilities by utility companies. His experience also includes public offerings, trust default administration, direct loans, private placement transactions, economic development, tax incentives, derivative products, and post-issuance compliance.