GUY
S. HOBBS -
Managing Partner
KATHERINE W. ONG - Partner
JAMES C. CHACHAS - Senior Consultant
PETER W. MILLER - Managing Director
JOHN H. BONOW - Managing Director
INTRODUCTION
The Hobbs, Ong and PFM Team will coordinate service to
its Nevada clients through the Las Vegas office of Hobbs, Ong & Associates,
Inc. Additional client support, as needed, will be provided through the
San Francisco office of Public Financial Management, Inc.
The Team has dedicated four professionals to concentrate on the needs
of Nevada clients. Other professional resources will be accessed as client
needs dictate. The use of teams customized to meet the needs of the client
provides access to the most effective mix of professional support and
ensures the highest possible level of service.
The Hobbs, Ong and PFM Team is comprised of individuals experienced
in local and national financial issues. The staffing for Nevada clients
will include a financial advisory and financial problem solving team
with unmatched expertise in municipal finance, and unmatched State and
local financial experience
The Hobbs, Ong and PFM Team is comprised of many specialized advisory
groups and operates through the use of teams. This approach to problem
solving facilitates close working relationships among our many professionals.
We provide service to our clients by organizing the most efficient and
knowledgeable group of professionals to solve problems. This may mean
bringing together several members of the same advisory group or it may
involve organizing a team from several different groups and / or offices,
depending on the tasks at hand. The cross-utilization of personnel with
different expertise and experience is what enables us to provide clients
with the most thorough and cost-effective support possible.
GUY S. HOBBS
Managing Partner, Hobbs, Ong & Associates, Inc
Email Mr. Hobbs
Guy S. Hobbs is the co-founder, President and Managing Partner of Hobbs,
Ong & Associates, Inc. Mr. Hobbs’ areas of expertise include financial
advisory services, tax policy and administration, budget and capital
planning strategies, debt management and operations management. He also
has significant experience working with the State Legislature and several
units of regional and local government.
Mr. Hobbs’ municipal finance experience includes 12 years as the Comptroller
and Director of Finance for Clark County, Nevada. As the chief financial
officer, Mr. Hobbs was responsible for accounts payable, accounts receivable,
payroll, data control, financial systems development, accounting, financial
analysis, budget and control, community and economic development, grants
acquisition, asset management, debt issuance and administration, and
risk management. Mr. Hobbs was also responsible for the preparation,
administration, and control of an annual operating budget which exceeded
$1.8 billion including capital projects funds, debt service funds, enterprise
funds, and a $450 million general fund. Mr. Hobbs’ other related work
experience includes extensive independent consulting in association with
the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas and 14 years of university level teaching as a lecturer in
the Department of Management, College of Business and Economics at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has also been a speaker at national,
state and local conferences.
Since establishing the firm of Hobbs, Ong & Associates, Inc., in
1996, Mr. Hobbs has worked on, structured, and provided oversight on
the sale of more than $7.1 billion of tax-exempt debt. These issues included
General Obligation, Revenue and Special Improvement District bonds, Refundings
and General Obligations with Additionally Secured Revenues. These services
were provided to a wide range of governmental agencies including: cities,
counties, airports, hospitals, water districts and police departments.
Mr. Hobbs served on the Legislative Commission’s Subcommittee to Study
Laws Relating to Financing of Infrastructure Which Accompany Development,
and the Subcommittee Studying Laws Relating to the Distribution Among
Local Governments of Revenue from State and Local Taxes. He will continue
to serve on the technical committee established by Senate Bill 253 of
the 1997 Legislature. In November 2001, he was appointed by the Governor
to chair the Task Force on Tax Policy in Nevada.
Mr. Hobbs is a member of the Government Finance Officer’s Association,
and the Nevada Taxpayer’s Association. He was named the Public Administrator
of the Year in 1986 by the Las Vegas Chapter of the American Society
for Public Administration, and is recognized in Who’s Who in Finance
and Industry, Who’s Who in America and Distinguished Men of Southern
Nevada.
Mr. Hobbs received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the
University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters of Business Administration
from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with an emphasis in Management/Operations
and Production Management.
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KATHERINE W. ONG
Partner, Hobbs, Ong & Associates, Inc.
Email Ms. Ong
Katherine W. Ong is co-founder and Partner of Hobbs, Ong & Associates,
Inc., a financial consulting group specializing in municipal finance
problem solving and support. Ms. Ong’s areas of expertise include the
preparation and administration of governmental budgets, fiscal impact
analysis, legislative strategy, private activity bond administration,
feasibility studies and project management for automated financial systems.
She also provides financial advisory services for municipal bond financings.
Ms. Ong’s municipal finance experience includes eight years as the Budget
Manager for Clark County, Nevada, where she directed the preparation,
implementation, and control of Clark County’s $1.8 billion annual budget,
planning and implementation of financing strategies for capital projects
and debt service funds, trust funds, enterprise funds, and a $450 million
general fund. Ms. Ong researched and developed new and more stable sources
of revenues, prepared short and long-range revenue and expenditure projection
analyses, and prepared reports which interpreted data and outlined alternatives
for successful project resolution.
Since establishing the firm of Hobbs, Ong & Associates, Inc., in
1996, Ms. Ong has worked on, structured, and managed the sale of more
than $7.1 billion of tax-exempt debt. The types of debt include general
obligation bonds and revenue bonds. Examples of the financings managed
by Ms. Ong include: the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority New
and Refunding Bonds, $97.4 million; the City of Las Vegas Sewer Bonds,
$35 million; the Carson City Water Bonds, $1.8 million; the Clark County
Regional Transportation Commission Revenue Bonds, $70 million; the Clark
County Flood Control District Refunding Bonds, $29.9 million; the Clark
County Transportation Refunding Bonds, $108 million; and, the Clark County
McCarran International Airport Revenue and Refunding Bonds, $416 million.
Ms. Ong was instrumental in the restructuring of the State of Nevada’s
municipal tax structure. She assisted in the preparation of, and successfully
lobbied the legislation to redistribute inter-county revenues. Clark
County gained an additional $16 million in annual revenue because of
new tax revenue distribution formulas which corrected long-standing inequities
in the distribution of ad valorem, sales, and motor vehicle privilege
tax revenues within the State of Nevada.
Ms. Ong is a member of the Government Finance Officer’s Association
and the Nevada Taxpayers Association. She was also a member of the Supreme
Court of Nevada Urban Court Workload Assessment Commission. She was a
member of Advisory Committee for the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community
Small Business Loan Guarantee Program and was appointed to the City of
Las Vegas Council Review Committee. Her budgeting staff received numerous
national awards from the National Association of Counties and the Government
Finance Officer’s Association under her direction. Ms. Ong received a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas, with an emphasis in Finance.
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James C. Chachas
Senior Consultant, Hobbs, Ong & Associates, Inc.
Email Mr. Chachas
James C. Chachas, is a financial analyst whose work experience includes
service in various levels of senior financial administration of local
government, utilities and casinos. Mr. Chachas has an extensive background
in local government finance having served as Deputy Budget Director at
Clark County and as a Senior Management Analyst and Business Officer
at Clark County, Department of Parks and Recreation. He also served as
the Regional Representative for Congressman James Santini in Northern
and Southern Nevada.
During his tenure at Clark County he was responsible at different times
for the preparation and administration of department budgets including
expenditure control and oversight. He prepared financial analyses regarding
a variety of budget, financial and management issues and made recommendations
to management regarding financial policy decisions. In his position
with a rural electric cooperative, he was responsible for all phases
of the financial administration of the electric utility. As comptroller
for a neighborhood casino, Mr. Chachas was responsible for all financial
aspects of the operation, including preparation of financial statements
and oversight of the business office. In addition, his duties included
primary contacts with the Nevada State Gaming Control Board.
Mr. Chachas has participated in the preparation of a variety of projects
relating to local governments. These included the preparation of revenue
estimates for local governments as a long term planning tool. He prepared
a study of infrastructure financing in Clark County relating to streets,
highways, and roads; water and waste water; mass transit; flood control;
schools; and, parks. Other specialized studies in which he participated
include the preparation of a financial feasibility study relating to
the construction and development of a municipal golf course; and, the
preparation of Financial Impact Analyses (FIA) for several major master
planned communities in Southern Nevada. The FIA is a methodology which
can be employed to assess the economic impact of a development upon public
service providers. Local governments can use these as a tool to make
more informed decisions relating to development issues. He has worked
with several local governments in the State which have faced financial
challenges. He has worked with their staffs to enable them to better
understand their financial environment and has made recommendations to
address the particular circumstances confronting the organization. In
addition, he has conducted a series of advocacy analyses for private
sector clients for presentation to various local governing boards.
Mr. Chachas received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the
University of Utah at Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Peter W.
Miller
Managing Director, Public Financial Management, Inc.
Email Mr. Miller
Peter W. Miller, a Managing Director, joined Public Financial Management,
Inc. in 1991 and is currently the manager of the firm’s West Coast Practice.
Mr. Miller has structured, and managed the sale of over $10 billion
of tax-exempt debt. The types of debt included in this list are general
obligation bonds, special assessment bonds, sewer revenue bonds, installment
purchase certificates of participation, lease revenue bonds, tax increment
bonds, general airport revenue bonds, (AMT and non-AMT) passenger facility
charge revenue bonds, sales tax revenue bonds, current and advanced refunding
bonds, and tax revenue anticipation.
A sample of Mr. Millers clients include: Clark County, NV, Clark County
Regional Transportation Commission, The State of Nevada, McCarran International
Airport (Las Vegas, NV), the City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco
International Airport, Solano County, the cities of Las Vegas, Modesto,
Folsom, Roseville, Lincoln, among others.
Mr. Miller has also served as Financial Officer, Special Projects, in
the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer for the City and County
of San Francisco from 1987 to 1991. As Financial Officer, Mr. Miller
was responsible for all debt issued by the City, maintaining the City’s
debt rating, managing the cash investments of certain City accounts,
and analyzing capital projects on an on-going basis. As part of this
position, Mr. Miller was also the financial officer for the City’s Solid
Waste Program.
Some of the major financings and accomplishments during Mr. Miller’s
tenure as Financial Officer to the City of San Francisco include: $137
Million Lease Revenue Bonds for the expansion of the Moscone Convention
Center, $60.5 million Lease Revenue Bonds refunding the 1979 Moscone
Lease Revenue bonds, $145 million sewer revenue bonds used to builds
secondary treatment facilities, $316 million in general obligation bonds
issued in six series, the creation of San Francisco’s land-based financial
plan (a series of special assessment districts) to pay for the construction
of the public infrastructure in the 300-acre Mission Bay multi-purpose
development project, the development of San Francisco’s first equipment
lease-purchase program using tax exempt bonds, assisting the San Francisco
Redevelopment Agency issue its first series of Mello-Roos bonds and several
series of tax increment bonds totaling approximately $70 million, and
developing the first strategic plan for the purchase and construction
of City office buildings.
Mr. Miller received his Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies
from Syracuse University, his Master’s Degree in Economics
from Tufts University and his Masters Degree in City and
Regional Planning from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy
School of Government.
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John H. Bonow
Managing Director, Public Financial Management, Inc.
Email Mr. Bonow
Mr. Bonow joined PFM in 1991 and has served as the firm's project manager
in several engagements for health care, environmental utility, higher
education and general municipal clients. Mr. Bonow's experience intersects
all major areas of PFM's services: financial planning, transaction management,
investment management, and arbitrage rebate and compliance.
As part of the capital funding process, Mr. Bonow has assisted municipal
issuers in obtaining more than $5.0 billion in tax-exempt financing through
a variety of security instruments, including: revenue bonds, general
obligation bonds, lease revenue bonds, certificates of participation
(both lease and installment purchase), tax allocation bonds, Marks-Roos
(bond pool) revenue bonds, Mello-Roos (special tax) bonds, assessment
district bonds, forward delivery bonds, and forward swaps, among others.
The structures on which Mr. Bonow has worked include fixed rate, zero-coupon,
variable rate bonds (both demand bonds and auction rate notes), and tax-exempt
commercial paper. Mr. Bonow also assists many clients with the investment
of bond proceeds and operating funds to best match an entity's assets
and liabilities.
Mr. Bonow's expertise extends into the financial modeling requirements
of most utilities and enterprise fund credits. He has developed computer
models for various water, wastewater and waste disposal utilities throughout
California. In addition, Mr. Bonow has assisted several health care providers
with a quantification of their debt capacity and assessment of credit
rating potential.
Mr. Bonow advises several PFM clients, a representative list of which
follows.
Environmental Utilities:
Clark County Sanitation District
Clark County Regional Flood Control District
Las Vegas Valley Water District / Southern Nevada Water Authority
South Placer Wastewater Authority
Truckee Meadows Water Authority
Contra Costa Water District
General Municipal/Miscellaneous:
Washoe County (Nevada)
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (Nevada)
County of San Luis Obispo
City of Roseville
Clark County (Nevada)
Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District
Health Care/Higher Education:
Washington Health Care Facilities Authority
California Health Facilities Financing Authority
California Educational Facilities Authority
Mr. Bonow has a B.A. Degree in Economics from Yale University.
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