BlaineMN.gov
CityConnect September/October 2019
What’s Inside
Night to Unite Thousands Celebrate Community..................3
City of Blaine Receives AAA Bond Rating The City of Blaine has achieved the prestigious AAA bond rating by Standard and Poor’s. The AAA rating is the highest rating awarded by credit rating agencies. Blaine now joins 22 other cities in Minnesota with this elite rating from Standard and Poor’s. Nationwide only 260 cities have been awarded AAA status out of the 19,429 cities rated by Standard and Poor’s. This rating puts Blaine in the top two percent of cities in the entire country in terms of bond rating.
Fourth Graders Learn to be Safe....................................................................4
Blaine Finance Director and Acting City Manager Joe Huss said, “This is a major achievement, with the direction and polices set by the city council, Standard and Poor’s was very impressed with the City of Blaine. Under the guidance of former City Manager Clark Arneson and the extremely talented and knowledgeable department heads and dedicated staff, Blaine has been on a steady path to reach AAA status and that goal has now been realized.” The City of Blaine was previously rated AA+, a rating the city had held since 2010. Receiving the bond rating upgrade has been a focus of the Blaine City Council and city staff in recent years. With sound financial management, a growing tax base, and a robust economy Blaine performed extremely well in the bond rating review that took place over the last few months, which led to the AAA rating.
Blaine WorldFest and SBM 75th Anniversary............................................8
New Blaine City Manager Announced
POSTMASTER: TIME SENSITIVE MAIL
DATED MATERIAL PREPARED BY THE OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
ECRWSS
POSTAL CUSTOMER
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID TWIN CITIES, MN Permit No. 32324 City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449
As with a personal credit rating, the city’s AAA rating will allow the city to receive the best possible interest rates when bonding for projects. The city saw immediate effects of the rating upgrade when the city received a historically low interest rate of 1.46 percent on the sale of $4.2 million in general obligation capital improvement bonds.
After an extensive search the Blaine City Council selected Michelle Wolfe as the next Blaine City Manager. Wolfe brings more than 26 years of local government experience and currently serves as Deputy City Manager for the City of Aurora, Colorado. She previously served as City Administrator for the City of Arden Hills, Minnesota, from 2003 to 2007 and she looks forward to returning to Minnesota. Wolfe was the top choice for all interview panels that participated in the finalist interviews. The city selected Strategic Government Resources (SGR) to assist in conducting the extensive search that resulted in an impressive candidate pool. SGR’s proprietary recruitment and vetting process produced a strong field of candidates comprised of 38 applications from candidates in 12 states and two countries. Five finalists participated in a two day on site interview process in late June. The two day interview process involved community tours, candidate sessions with senior staff, a community panel, a public meet and greet, and interviews with the Blaine City Council. Blaine Mayor Tom Ryan stated, “The choice of Michelle Wolfe to be the next Blaine City Manager is a home run. The entire city council was excited to have a candidate as impressive as Wolfe. I along with the rest of the council look forward to working with Michelle.” Michelle Wolfe will take over as Blaine City Manager on September 16.