GOVERNMENTS
Municipalities
Municipalities have a
wider ranging variety of
needs than most
issuers, and often
consider a wider range
of possible financing
options as a result. Meristem Advisors works with municipal clients to consider their alternatives in order to finance projects less expensively. For development projects, we can evaluate the merits and costs of Tax Increment Financing Districts or Special Service Areas. We can also help municipalities look at direct and private placements in addition to more traditional negotiated or competitive bond sales.
Libraries
Meristem Advisors
understands that Library
Directors are charged
with financial
accountability, often
without significant
support, and we understand the stress that comes with unfamiliar ground. Financial management is broad and complex, encompassing a wide range of topics, from basic budget and planning, to tax levies, capital planning and new building plans. Meristem Advisors is your fiduciary to provide support and assist with planning. We seek to clarify complex concepts and distill them into manageable tasks that can be confidently executed so that both staff and the Board feel they are being proactive.
Meristem Advisors
understands that School
Superintendents and
Business Managers are
charged with financial
accountability in a field defined by regulation. State laws place numerous restrictions on how local school districts can borrow. After working with these laws throughout his career, Jamie Rachlin is intimately familiar with how they are applied and can help districts strategically use their borrowing potential to keep facilities safe and modern. Meristem Advisors is here as your fiduciary to provide support and assist with your borrowing strategy and needs, to simplify the process and coordinate execution. We seek to clarify complex concepts and distill them into manageable tasks that can be confidently executed so that both staff and the Board feel they are being proactive.
Water and sewer
agencies are
increasingly under
pressure to comply
with federal consent
decrees, reduce system losses, and upgrade technology. These pressures are exacerbated by a changing climate, resulting in significant capital costs that require funding. In addition to traditional borrowing strategies, Meristem Advisors can help utility departments and agencies explore alternative strategies for meeting these requirements. Meristem Advisors can assist with modeling and projecting the impact of such strategies on long term financial health to enable sound decisions to be made.
School Districts
Water and Sewer Agencies
Forest Preserve, Conservation and Park Districts
Jamie Rachlin, President of Meristem Advisors and a Board member of Openlands, understands the importance of parks and preserves for connecting people with nature and recreational alternatives. As wider and wider areas of Chicagoland become developed and urbanized, and technology increasingly isolates us from contemplation, expanding opportunities for people to participate in nature and outdoor recreational activity becomes more important, as does preserving space to share with wildlife and establishing resilient buffers against a changing environment. Meristem Advisors can explore both traditional and innovative ways to help forest preserve and conservation districts achieve these objectives.