Former Pontiac Emergency Manager Louis H. Schimmel Returns To Municipal Financial Consultants Incorporated as Vice Chairman

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Municipal Financial Consultants Incorporated

Aug 18, 2014, 12:17 ET

GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich., Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith A. Shanle, President of Municipal Financial Consultants Incorporated, announced today that Louis H. Schimmel, who served as Vice Chairman of MFCI from 2004 to 2010, returned to the company on August 1^st to serve in a similar capacity.

Mr. Schimmel had resigned from MFCI in March 2010, to serve as Executive Administrator for the City of Warren and then on September 12, 2011, was appointed Emergency Manager of the City of Pontiac by Governor Rick Snyder.

In the nearly two years he was the Emergency Manager of the City of Pontiac he completely restructured the City by contracting out nearly all of the basic services the City provides including police, fire and the entire department of public works. Additionally, he sold the excess capacity in the City's sewage disposal system to Oakland County for $55 million, reduced the city's overall debt from $105 million to $28 million and cut the City's general fund expenses from a level of $57 million six years ago to $30 million for the current fiscal year.

These moves along with numerous other creative changes resulted in allowing Schimmel to balance the City's budget going forward and to not declare bankruptcy, which many thought not possible when he became the City's Emergency Manager. Mr. Schimmel resigned as Pontiac's Emergency Manager on August 19, 2013 and, on the same day, he was appointed by Governor Snyder to a four member Transition Advisory Board to oversee the City of Pontiac in the future years. He still serves in that capacity.

While Executive Administrator of Warren, Schimmel negotiated eight union labor contracts and was involved in management decisions that resulted in a more efficient city operation and significant savings in tax dollars.

In February 2001, Mr. Schimmel retired as the Executive Director of the Municipal Advisory Council of Michigan (MAC), a statistical clearing house for investment bankers located throughout the United States who underwrite and/or invest in Michigan municipal bond issues. Mr. Schimmel has a vast background in municipal finance, has served on numerous boards and commissions, has authored several articles and trade publications and continually advised state and local officials on fiscal matters. He is recognized in the municipal bond industry as an authority on the creditworthiness of Michigan municipal debt issues.

In December 1986, the Chief Judge of the Wayne County Michigan Circuit Court appointed Schimmel to be the Receiver for the debt-ridden City of Ecorse. He served as the City's Receiver for nearly 4 years during which period he completely eliminated the City's $6,000,000 deficit by negotiating unique labor union contracts and by privatizing nearly all services provided by the City.

In November 2000, Governor Engler appointed Schimmel to again bail out a financially troubled city, this time the City of Hamtramck. During his 5 years as the State appointed Emergency Financial Manager in Hamtramck he sold unused assets, out sourced services, resolved numerous long standing legal matters and streamlined city government operations.

In the past Mr. Schimmel served on the Waterford, Michigan School Board for eight years--two years as board president. He is a past president of the Bond Club of Detroit. He also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Pontiac State Bank from 1972 to 1988. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Ms. Shanle, also announced today that the founder of Municipal Financial Consultants Incorporated, John R. Axe, has returned, effective August 1, 2014, to serve as Chairman of MFCI. Mr. Axe, who founded the firm in 1981, served as its President and then Chairman until January of 2010, has returned to the firm where he will serve on the Board of Directors and also as the Project Director for various projects where the firm is financial consultant for one of its many municipal clients.

Mr. Axe's experience as a Financial Advisor to municipalities extends back to the 1970's when municipalities first were required by the SEC to prepare offering circulars in order to market municipal bonds.

A graduate of the University of Michigan and the Harvard Law School, Axe currently serves as a member of the board of the Michigan Judges Retirement System and in the past served as a member of the Higher Education Assistance Authority of the State of Michigan.

MFCI serves as Financial Advisor to counties, cities, townships, and other municipal authorities in Michigan. In 2014, the firm has successfully marketed 17 municipal bonds and notes for the Counties of Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Berrien, Crawford, Van Buren and Dickinson, the City of Warren, Waterford School District and Benton Charter Township. All of these securities, which totaled over $112,000,000, were marketed at competitive sales. In August, MFCI will be offering the largest competitive issue to be sold this year in Michigan for any municipality, which will be a $32,545,000 refunding bond issue for the City of Warren.