From time to time, and at the request of the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), as part of the credit facility an updated “Security Agreement - Municipalities and School Boards” document is required. To be consistent with authorities as it relates to any borrowings from the line of credit, Administration is recommending that the CAO and CFO/City Treasurer be authorized to sign the document as required.

Risk Analysis:

As mentioned within the Discussion section, having a line of credit available as needed is good business practice should any unforeseen situation arise that would require its use. However, Administration does monitor the City ’ s cash position on a regular basis to ensure that sufficient funds are maintained. In addition to the liquidity provided by the credit facility currently in place has been a positive factor in previous Standard and Poor credit rating reports. While the use of debenture issues and other borrowing sources could be relied upon if needed, the City could be faced with a higher interest rate on those borrowings.

Financial Matters:

The current operating line of credit with Scotiabank is set at $100 million. There is no cost to the City to maintain the line of credit on standby. Council will recall that letters of credit in the amount of $5,043,936 have been issued against the line of credit. These letters of credit support the annual special payments that would otherwise need to be paid with respect to the frozen pension fund for Transit Windsor employees.

Consultations:

N/A

Conclusion:

In order to make available the line of credit and to comply with the Municipal Act, Administration requires Council to approve the use of temporary borrowing for 2021 according to the provisions of Section 407 of the Municipal Act.

Approvals:

Name	Title
Vince Grillo	Manager, Treasury & Cash Management
Janice Guthrie	Deputy Treasurer, Taxation and Financial Projects
Joseph Mancina	CFO & City Treasurer, Corporate Leader Finance & Technology
Onorio Colucci	Chief Administrative Officer