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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA012 - Continuing Disclosure Certificate dated December 29, 32015 Ames419370-52/CDCElectricRevenue CONTINUING DISCLOSURE CERTIFICATE This Continuing Disclosure Certificate (the "Disclosure Certificate") is executed and delivered by the City of Ames, Iowa (the "Issuer"), in connection with the issuance of $9,500,000 Electric Revenue Bonds, Series 2015B (the "Bonds"), dated December 29, 2015. The Bonds are being issued pursuant to a resolution of the Issuer approved on December 8, 2015 (the "Resolution"). The Issuer covenants and agrees as follows: Section 1. Purpose of the Disclosure Certificate. This Disclosure Certificate is being executed and delivered by the Issuer for the benefit of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of the Bonds and in order to assist the Participating Underwriters in complying with S.E.C. Rule 15c2- 12. Section 2. Definitions. In addition to the definitions set forth in the Resolution, which apply to any capitalized term used in this Disclosure Certificate unless otherwise defined in this Section, the following capitalized terms shall have the following meanings: "Annual Report" shall mean any Annual Report provided by the Issuer pursuant to, and as described in, Sections 3 and 4 of this Disclosure Certificate. "Beneficial Owner" shall mean any person which (a) has the power, directly or indirectly, to vote or consent with respect to, or to dispose of ownership of, any Bonds (including persons holding Bonds through nominees, depositories or other intermediaries), or (b) is treated as the owner of any Bonds for federal income tax purposes. "Dissemination Agent" shall mean the Dissemination Agent, if any, designated in writing by the Issuer and which has filed with the Issuer a written acceptance of such designation. "EMMA" shall mean the MSRB's Electronic Municipal Market Access system available at http://emma.msrb.org. "Holders" shall mean the registered holders of the Bonds, as recorded in the registration books of the Registrar. "Listed Events" shall mean any of the events listed in Section 5(a) of this Disclosure Certificate. "Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board" or "MSRB" shall mean the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, 1900 Duke Street, Suite 600, Alexandria, VA 22314. "Participating Underwriter" shall mean any of the original underwriters of the Bonds required to comply with the Rule in connection with offering of the Bonds. -1- Ames419370-52/CDCElectricRevenue "Rule" shall mean Rule 15c2-12 adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as the same may be amended from time to time. "State" shall mean the State of Iowa. Section 3. Provision of Annual Reports. (a) Not later than June 30 (the "Submission Deadline") of each year following the end of the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the Issuer shall, or shall cause the Dissemination Agent (if any) to, file on EMMA an electronic copy of its Annual Report which is consistent with the requirements of Section 4 of this Disclosure Certificate in a format and accompanied by such identifying information as prescribed by the MSRB. The Annual Report may be submitted as a single document or as separate documents comprising a package, and may cross-reference other information as provided in Section 4 of this Disclosure Certificate; provided that the audited financial statements of the Issuer may be submitted separately from the balance of the Annual Report and later than the Submission Deadline if they are not available by that date. If the Issuer's fiscal year changes, it shall give notice of such change in the same manner as for a Listed Event under Section 5(c), and the Submission Deadline beginning with the subsequent fiscal year will become one year following the end of the changed fiscal year. (b) If the Issuer has designated a Dissemination Agent, then not later than fifteen (15) business days prior to the Submission Deadline, the Issuer shall provide the Annual Report to the Dissemination Agent. (c) If the Issuer is unable to provide an Annual Report by the Submission Deadline, in a timely manner thereafter, the Issuer shall, or shall cause the Dissemination Agent (if any) to, file a notice on EMMA stating that there has been a failure to provide an Annual Report on or before the Submission Deadline. Section 4. Content of Annual Reports. The Issuer's Annual Report shall contain or include by reference the following: (a) The audited financial statements of the Issuer for the prior fiscal year, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board as modified in accordance with the governmental accounting standards promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board or as otherwise provided under State law, as in effect from time to time, or, if and to the extent such audited financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, noting the discrepancies therefrom and the effect thereof. If the Issuer's audited financial statements are not available by the Submission Deadline, the Annual Report shall contain unaudited financial information (which may include any annual filing information required by State law) accompanied by a notice that the audited financial statements are not yet available, and the audited financial statements shall be filed on EMMA when they become available. -2- Ames4 1 93 70-52/CDCElectricRevenue (b) Tables, schedules or other information contained in the official statement for the Bonds, under the following captions: Electricity Produced, Purchased and Cost History of Electric Sales History of Electric Accounts Served Peak Demand Larger Electric Users Any or all of the items listed above may be included by specific reference to other documents, including official statements of debt issues of the Issuer or related public entities, which are available on EMMA or are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the document included by reference is a final official statement, it must be available on EMMA. The Issuer shall clearly identify each such other document so included by reference. Section 5. Reporting of Significant Events (a) Pursuant to the provisions of this Section 5, the Issuer shall give, or cause to be given, notice of the occurrence of any of the following events with respect to the Bonds: (1) Principal and interest payment delinquencies. (2)Non-payment related defaults, if material. (3) Unscheduled draws on debt service reserves reflecting financial difficulties. (4) Unscheduled draws on credit enhancements reflecting financial difficulties. (5) Substitution of credit or liquidity providers, or their failure to perform. (6) Adverse tax opinions, the issuance by the Internal Revenue Service of proposed or final determinations of taxability, Notices of Proposed Issue (IRS Form 5701-TEB) or other material notices or determinations with respect to the tax status of the security, or other material events affecting the tax status of the security. (7) Modifications to rights of security holders, if material. (8) Bond calls, if material, and tender offers. (9) Defeasances. (10) Release, substitution, or sale of property securing repayment of the securities, if material. (11) Rating changes. -3- Ames4l 9370-52/CDCElectricRevenue (12) Bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or similar event of the obligated person. Note to paragraph (12): For the purposes of the event identified in subparagraph (12), the event is considered to occur when any of the following occur: the appointment of a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer for an obligated person in a proceeding under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or in any other proceeding under state or federal law in which a court or governmental authority has assumed jurisdiction over substantially all of the assets or business of the obligated person, or if such jurisdiction has been assumed by leaving the existing governing body and officials or officers in possession but subject to the supervision and orders of a court or governmental authority, or the entry of an order confirming a plan of reorganization, arrangement or liquidation by a court or governmental authority having supervision or jurisdiction over substantially all of the assets or business of the obligated person. (13) The consummation of a merger, consolidation, or acquisition involving an obligated person or the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the obligated person, other than in the ordinary course of business, the entry into a definitive agreement to undertake such an action or the termination of a definitive agreement relating to any such actions, other than pursuant to its terms, if material. (14) Appointment of a successor or additional trustee or the change of name of a trustee, if material. (b) If a Listed Event described in Section 5(a) paragraph (2), (7), (8) (but only with respect to bond calls under (8)), (10), (13) or (14) has occurred and the Issuer has determined that such Listed Event is material under applicable federal securities laws, the Issuer shall, in a timely manner but not later than ten business days after the occurrence of such Listed Event, promptly file, or cause to be filed, a notice of such occurrence on EMMA, with such notice in a format and accompanied by such identifying information as prescribed by the MSRB. (c) If a Listed Event described in Section 5(a) paragraph (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (8) (but only with respect to tender offers under(8)), (9), (11) or(12) above has occurred the Issuer shall, in a timely manner but not later than ten business days after the occurrence of such Listed Event, promptly file, or cause to be filed, a notice of such occurrence on EMMA, with such notice in a format and accompanied by such identifying information as prescribed by the MSRB. Notwithstanding the foregoing, notice of Listed Events described in Section(5)(a) paragraphs (8) and (9) need not be given under this subsection any earlier than the notice (if any) of the underlying event is given to Holders of affected Bonds pursuant to the Resolution. Section 6. Termination of Reporting Obligation. The Issuer's obligations under this Disclosure Certificate shall terminate upon the legal defeasance, prior redemption or payment in full of all of the Bonds or upon the Issuer's receipt of an opinion of nationally recognized bond counsel to the effect that, because of legislative action or final judicial action or administrative actions or proceedings, the failure of the Issuer to comply with the terms hereof will not cause Participating Underwriters to be in violation of the Rule or other applicable requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. If such termination occurs prior to the final -4- Ames4193 70-52/CDCElectricRevenue maturity of the Bonds, the Issuer shall give notice of such termination in the same manner as for a Listed Event under Section 5(c). Section 7. Dissemination Agent. The Issuer may, from time to time, appoint or engage a Dissemination Agent to assist it in carrying out its obligations under this Disclosure Certificate, and may discharge any such Agent, with or without appointing a successor Dissemination Agent. The Dissemination Agent shall not be responsible in any manner for the content of any notice or Annual Report prepared by the Issuer pursuant to this Disclosure Certificate. Section 8. Amendment; Waiver. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Disclosure Certificate, the Issuer may amend this Disclosure Certificate, and any provision of this Disclosure Certificate may be waived, provided that the following conditions are satisfied: (a) (i) the amendment or waiver is made in connection with a change in circumstances that arises from a change in legal requirements, change in law, or change in the identity, nature or status of an obligated person with respect to the Bonds, or the type of business conducted; (ii) the undertaking, as amended or taking into account such waiver, would, in the opinion of nationally recognized bond counsel, have complied with the requirements of the Rule at the time of the original issuance of the Bonds, after taking into account any amendments or interpretations of the Rule, as well as any change in circumstances; and (iii) the amendment or waiver either (1) is approved by a majority of the Holders, or (2) does not, in the opinion of nationally recognized bond counsel, materially impair the interests of the Holders or Beneficial Owners; or (b) the amendment or waiver is necessary to comply with modifications to or interpretations of the provisions of the Rule as announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the event of any amendment or waiver of a provision of this Disclosure Certificate, the Issuer shall describe such amendment in the next Annual Report, and shall include, as applicable, a narrative explanation of the reason for the amendment or waiver and its impact on the type (or in the case of a change of accounting principles, on the presentation) of financial information or operating data being presented by the Issuer. In addition, if the amendment relates to the accounting principles to be followed in preparing audited financial statements, (i) notice of such change shall be given in the same manner as for a Listed Event under Section 5(c), and (ii) the Annual Report for the year in which the change is made will present a comparison or other discussion in narrative form (and also, if feasible, in quantitative form) describing or illustrating the material differences between the audited financial statements as prepared on the basis of the new accounting principles and those prepared on the basis of the former accounting principles. Section 9. Additional Information. Nothing in this Disclosure Certificate shall be deemed to prevent the Issuer from disseminating any other information, using the means of dissemination set forth in this Disclosure Certificate or any other means of communication, or including any other information in any Annual Report or notice of occurrence of a Listed Event, in addition to that which is required by this Disclosure Certificate. If the Issuer chooses to -5- Ames4 1 93 70-52/CDCE lectricReven ue include any information in any Annual Report or notice of occurrence of a Listed Event in addition to that which is specifically required by this Disclosure Certificate, the Issuer shall have no obligation under this Certificate to update such information or include it in any future Annual Report or notice of occurrence of a Listed Event. Section 10. Default. In the event of a failure of the Issuer to comply with any provision of this Disclosure Certificate, any Holder or Beneficial Owner may take such actions as may be necessary and appropriate, including seeking mandate or specific performance by court order, to cause the Issuer to comply with its obligations under this Disclosure Certificate. Direct, indirect, consequential and punitive damages shall not be recoverable by any person for any default hereunder and are hereby waived to the extent permitted by law. A default under this Disclosure Certificate shall not be deemed an event of default under the Resolution, and the sole remedy under this Disclosure Certificate in the event of any failure of the Issuer to comply with this Disclosure Certificate shall be an action to compel performance. Section 11. Duties, Immunities and Liabilities of Dissemination Agent. The Dissemination Agent, if any, shall have only such duties as are specifically set forth in this Disclosure Certificate, and the Issuer agrees to indemnify and save the Dissemination Agent, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless against any loss, expense and liabilities which it may incur arising out of or in the exercise or performance of its powers and duties hereunder, including the costs and expenses (including attorneys' fees) of defending against any claim of liability, but excluding liabilities due to the Dissemination Agent's negligence or willful misconduct. The obligations of the Issuer under this Section shall survive resignation or removal of the Dissemination Agent and payment of the Bonds. Section 12. Beneficiaries. This Disclosure Certificate shall inure solely to the benefit of the Issuer, the Dissemination Agent, the Participating Underwriters and Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of the Bonds, and shall create no rights in any other person or entity. Dated: December 29, 2015 CITY OF AMES, IOWA By Mayor Attest: B City Clerk -6-