Products & Services

Goodwin Consulting Group, Inc. (GCG) has extensive experience analyzing the fiscal, financial, and economic impacts of land development, conversion, and transition. With specialized expertise in the implementation and ongoing administration of financing tools, GCG is able to make recommendations during the planning stages that enhance the overall viability of a project.

Please click on the links below to find more detail about the products and services provided by GCG.

Mello-Roos Special Tax Consulting Services

GCG is the leading special tax consulting firm in northern California that has combined expertise in both preparing the special tax formula when a Community Facilities District (CFD) is formed and administering the special tax levy on an annual basis thereafter. Because GCG manages the ongoing administration of more than one hundred CFDs, our staff is uniquely aware of the components that should be included in a special tax formula to ensure ease of administration, avoid complaints from homeowners and property owners, and require minimal interpretation by the public agency in future years.

The principals of GCG have collectively written special tax formulae for hundreds of CFDs in California and Hawaii. These formulae have accommodated multiple bond issues for phased infrastructure funding, escalating special taxes, multiple tax zones to avoid cross-collateralization among landowners, variable-rate bonds, and state-of-the-art backup and prepayment mechanisms. Unlike many of our competitors, GCG looks at the projected annual CFD cash flow instead of simply estimating bonding capacity at project buildout. This detailed cash flow analysis considers all variables that may affect bonding capacity or maximum special tax rates, including bond interest rates, level vs. increasing debt service, reserve fund and capitalized interest requirements, and value-to-lien limitations.

Annual CFD Administration Services

With decades of extensive experience managing financing districts, GCG principals and staff have developed a thorough understanding of the complexities associated with administering a CFD after it is formed. GCG offers a full range of CFD administration services for our clients, including the following:

Preparation of the Annual Special Tax Levy

This service includes development of a comprehensive parcel database and a unique tax allocation model for each CFD. Taxes are calculated for taxable parcels based on each CFD’s rate and method of apportionment of special tax and submitted to each county auditor’s office for inclusion on the secured tax roll. Throughout the fiscal year, GCG tracks mapping activity, building permit issuance, and changes in land use within each CFD to maintain a current database of active parcels within each special tax category. GCG prepares an annual CFD tax report that provides a detailed list of the taxed parcels and their corresponding levies. In addition, GCG provides immediate responses to questions from homeowners, property owners, appraisers, underwriters, and other parties interested in the CFD and the special tax levy.

Continuing Disclosure Compliance Pursuant to SEC Rule 15c2-12(b)(5)

GCG acts as the dissemination agent for many of our clients. In this role, GCG prepares and/or distributes the annual continuing disclosure reports to comply with the reporting requirements in the bond continuing disclosure agreement and SEC Rule 15c2-12(b)(5). These reports are submitted prior to the deadline set forth in the continuing disclosure agreement, as well as immediately after the occurrence of any significant event as defined in the agreement.

California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) Reporting

California Government Code Section 53359.5 states that all public agencies that have sold CFD bonds after January 1, 1993, must file a Yearly Fiscal Status report with the Commission no later than October 30 of each year. The Yearly Fiscal Status report contains information about the CFD and the outstanding bonds, such as the assessed value of the properties in the CFD, the number and percentage of tax delinquencies, and the balances in bond funds. As part of the annual CFD administration, GCG completes a Yearly Fiscal Status report for all of our clients that have issued bonds.

Tax Delinquency Monitoring and Reporting

GCG works with the tax collector’s office in numerous counties to collect information on properties that are delinquent in the payment of their CFD taxes. GCG’s review ensures compliance with bond covenants that contain delinquency thresholds requiring an agency to foreclose on property once the threshold is reached. GCG monitors CFD tax delinquencies for all of its clients and sends notices to property owners prior to the foreclosure process commencing.

Arbitrage Rebate Compliance

The IRS requires a public agency that issues tax-exempt bonds to rebate all investment earnings on bond proceeds that are earned at a rate higher than the yield on the bonds. GCG monitors bond accounts and funds and performs the annual and five-year arbitrage rebate and yield reduction calculations for our clients. If a rebate to the IRS is required, GCG ensures that it is done in a timely manner pursuant to the IRS Code.

Bond Payoff Calculations

Using the formula provided in each rate and method of apportionment of special tax, GCG calculates full and partial bond payoffs for property owners who want to terminate or reduce their CFD tax obligation. GCG works closely with the public agency, trustee, or fiscal agent to ensure that the payoff amounts are placed in the proper accounts and used to call bonds at the next interest payment date.

Public Facilities Financing Plans and Feasibility Analyses

GCG prepares detailed financing strategies to ensure that public infrastructure required to serve a new development will be funded in a timely and efficient manner. Incorporating the nexus requirements mandated by state law, GCG determines the gross impact fees that would be required from each type of land use proposed within a project and evaluates the feasibility of the associated funding burdens. GCG then compares the revenues available from pay-as-you-go financing to the phasing of infrastructure costs to determine if other mechanisms are needed to remedy funding gaps. Based on the results of this analysis, GCG recommends a strategy to ensure that all improvements are funded in a timely manner. A public facilities financing matrix, statement of sources and uses, and other tools are used to present the findings and offer a high-level summary of the proposed strategy.

The recommended strategy may include development impact fees, Mello-Roos or assessment district bonds, revenue bonds, certificates of participation, tax allocation bonds, or other funding mechanisms. GCG also evaluates whether a reimbursement program will be needed to maintain equity among landowners in a project. Alternatives to provide such reimbursement, including area-of-benefit fee programs and Integrated Financing Districts, are analyzed in detail to demonstrate to landowners how reimbursement will ultimately be realized.

Fiscal Impact Studies

GCG has analyzed the fiscal impacts associated with new development projects, general plan updates, annexations, incorporations, and reorganizations. These analyses have been used to negotiate tax revenue sharing agreements, to determine the most efficient governance structure for new developments, and to analyze the impact of reallocating revenues from one public agency to another. GCG’s fiscal impact studies include: (i) comprehensive review and analysis of public agency budgets, (ii) detailed revenue and expense projections on an annual basis and at project buildout, and (iii) calculation of annual special taxes or upfront payments if it is determined that a funding alternative is needed to mitigate fiscal deficits. GCG produces a dynamic fiscal model that can be used to run sensitivity analyses associated with changes in land use, service standards, phasing, cost estimates, and other factors.

Development Impact Fee Nexus Studies and Fee Credit & Reimbursement Programs

GCG has a keen understanding of the Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code Section 66000) and stays current on case law relating to development impact fees. Dozens of public agencies, from fast growing cities such as Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova to small cities such as Plymouth and Ripon, have used GCG to develop their impact fee programs. GCG can develop a fee program that is specific to one fee category, such as a fire or road fee, or it can develop a comprehensive fee program that includes multiple fee categories such as roads, water, wastewater, drainage, parks and recreation, municipal buildings, public safety, library, affordable housing, agriculture mitigation, and corporation yard facilities. In establishing nexus and calculating impact fees, GCG considers all components that factor into a fair and objective fee program, including existing vs. preferred facility standards, alternative funding sources, existing deficiencies, partial facility funding through CFDs, and fee credits/reimbursements.

GCG also provides assistance to clients to help implement, monitor, and administer fee credit and reimbursement programs. Our staff has considerable experience dealing with the complex situations that arise when multiple developers are involved in large planning areas, and fee credits and reimbursements are needed to ensure a fair share allocation of infrastructure and public facility costs. GCG assists in developing fee credit and reimbursement policies that reflect the objectives of the public agency, keep ongoing program administration at a reasonable level, and maintain equity among the affected developers and property owners. GCG has also developed user-friendly computer applications that help public agencies track fee credits and reimbursements, while taking into account changes in the capital improvement program, interest carry, annual escalators, and application of fee credits on a monthly basis.

Economic Impact Analyses

GCG prepares analyses of the economic impacts that proposed projects will have on a local jurisdiction, existing retailers in a community (including sensitive downtown areas that may be part of ongoing revitalization efforts), or the regional competitive marketplace. These analyses consider job creation and pay levels (during both the construction and operational phases of a project); direct, indirect, and induced impacts; retail sales capture and leakage patterns; cannibalization of existing sales tax revenue; and other impacts a proposed project may have on the local economy. GCG has prepared analyses associated with a variety of unique land uses, including golf courses, time-share units, age-restricted projects, auto malls, horse racing facilities, airport-related industrial uses, and hotel/conference center facilities.

Market Absorption Studies

GCG’s market absorption analyses evaluate the projected timeframe within which a proposed development project can be expected to absorb within the local marketplace. Alternatively, a GCG market study can be used to determine the most feasible land uses for a site as the land use plan is being developed. GCG evaluates supply and demand dynamics within primary, secondary, and tertiary trade areas, as applicable. GCG’s contribution to the planning process avoids a costly plan being prepared that is subsequently determined to be infeasible in the competitive market. Analyses prepared by GCG have been used: (i) to determine the highest and best use for vacant parcels, considering other land uses and accounting for both existing and proposed competitive projects in the area; (ii) as the basis for land use decisions at the general plan or specific plan level; and (iii) to construct land use policies that set forth reasonable density requirements based on market conditions.

Jobs/Housing Balance and Affordable Housing Programs

GCG assists public agencies and landowners in developing and evaluating programs to promote a balance between jobs and housing and to encourage construction of affordable housing. Jobs/housing balance calculations are often oversimplified, but GCG incorporates persons per household, workers per household, residential occupancy rates, and other factors into the analysis to determine a more accurate jobs/housing ratio. GCG also determines the jobs/housing balance separately at a city, county, and regional level and presents those statistics both with and without a proposed development project. Affordable housing programs developed by GCG integrate unique product types, density bonus concepts, locally-infused trust funds, state and federal funding sources, and other measures to facilitate construction of affordable housing that will meet the needs of working households without producing economically infeasible results for a developer.

Redevelopment Financing

GCG has prepared redevelopment tax increment projections in association with public infrastructure financing programs, public/private partnership proposals, and pass-through negotiations between public agencies. GCG takes into account the required allocation of tax increment as set forth in Assembly Bill 1290, including the 20% low- and moderate-income set-aside and stepped-up distribution required over time, and maximizes the increased flexibility incorporated into the military base reuse chapter of the redevelopment law. GCG has formulated financing strategies that include a combination of land-secured funding mechanisms and tax allocation bonds, which provide funding both in the early years of a project and at buildout of the tax increment-generating land uses. GCG also understands that analyzing fiscal impacts becomes even more critical under these circumstances since the vast majority of property tax increment will likely be utilized for redevelopment projects rather than for discretionary general fund purposes for an extended period of time.

Pro Forma Cash Flow Models

GCG staff has analyzed the profitability of a variety of development projects for both public and private sector clients. Complex pro forma cash flow analyses that have been developed by GCG staff consider absorption schedules, sales and rent structures, infrastructure costs and phasing, preservation and rehabilitation costs and financing, public and private financing, land acquisition and ground lease structures, entitlements and other land development issues, preferred distributions, back-end sales participation revenue, and a host of other important assumptions and variables that factor into the net present value, internal rate of return, and other measures of development profitability. GCG staff has also prepared more simplified analyses that ignore timing issues and estimate direct and indirect vertical construction costs; marketing, selling, and other general and administrative expenses; in-tract and lot improvement costs; and other factors to determine builder profit or residual land value. Land development projects involving bulk sales to home builders, residential subdivisions, for-sale and rental multi-family complexes, and non-residential projects involving retail, hotel, office, and industrial development, including golf course development, have all been analyzed by GCG.