Oakland Approves Funding Plan

The Oakland City Council, faced with mounting costs from moving the Raiders football team back to Northern California, approved an interest rate swap designed to add $18.5 million to the city’s general fund. The council voted 9 to 0 to name Goldman, Sachs & Co. as the lead agent in the transaction. Samuel A. Ramirez & Co. was chosen as co-agent. The approval came with no discussion on the merits of using an interest rate swap to increase general fund reserves. The only discussion concerned the inclusion of the Ramirez firm as a minority-owned contractor. Before the vote took place, some public finance experts questioned the wisdom of using a rate swap to generate cash to pay for the Raiders’ move. The team’s return to Oakland after a 15-year absence was supposed to pay for itself with no burden to city taxpayers.