Treasurer Sprague, City of Youngstown Announce OMAP Deal Savings

COLUMBUS – The Ohio Market Access Program (OMAP) administered by Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague has helped the City of Youngstown (Mahoning County) enter the market to refinance two one-year notes and save approximately $161,300 in interest costs.

“During these challenging times, we should be using every tool we have to increase efficiencies and save taxpayer dollars – and we’re proud to help Youngstown do just that,” said Treasurer Sprague. “Through the Ohio Market Access Program, we’ve put the state’s high credit rating to work for the city and provided them with significant savings.”

The original notes were issued to renovate the city hall annex and to pay costs related to construction of the city’s convocation center.

“Like many municipalities across Ohio, this year has presented unforeseen financial circumstances for the City of Youngstown,” said Kyle Miasek, Director of Finance for the City of Youngstown. “This has required the City to implement every possible strategy to maximize available resources, and leveraging the Treasurer’s OMAP program is part of that effort. Youngstown's participation in OMAP provides tremendous financial relief in lowering the borrowing cost of outstanding short term notes. In fact, this move saves the City in excess of $160,000 and helps us establish a foundation for accessing the capital markets on future financings."

OMAP is a credit enhancement program that leverages the state’s excess liquidity and high short-term credit rating to help improve market access and lower borrowing rates for local governments. Since its 2014 launch, OMAP has supported more than 180 deals, ranging from $390,000 to over $100 million. There have been no defaults, and to date, OMAP has generated more than $3.65 million in savings for local governments.

Any government subdivision in good fiscal standing, including cities, villages, school districts, counties, townships, and special districts, issuing short-term debt is eligible to participate. For more information, visit https://omap.ohio.gov/.   

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Robert Sprague became Ohio’s 49th Treasurer of State on January 14, 2019, bringing to the office his extensive experience working on financial matters in both the public and private sectors. Under Treasurer Sprague’s direction, the office manages the state’s $20 billion investment and $10 billion debt portfolios, collects and deposits all state revenues, and oversees custodial assets.