On November 27th, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Greene County’s bond rating to Aa1 (second only from its top rating of AAA), an improvement over the previous rating of Aa2, reaffirming the county’s strong financial management as evidenced by consistently sound reserves, conservative budget management and a formal policy to maintain reserves.
Moody’s is a globally-recognized financial research and analytics firm that rates debt and equity securities for government entities and commercial businesses. Their rating system indicates degrees of creditworthiness, including financial strength of the issuing entity and risks to investors. Aa1 is the credit rating agency’s second highest rating for fixed-rate debt such as long-term municipal bonds. It indicates that Moody’s finds the County’s debt to be of high quality and subject to very low credit risk.
Ben Maslona, Vice-President, Municipal Advisor for Fiscal Advisors and Marketing, Inc., says “the benefits of the improved rating are reduced interest costs when the County issues debt, which ultimately saves the taxpayers money. Fiscal Advisors & Marketing, Inc. is a registered independent municipal advisory firm working throughout New York State. They assist over 500 New York State municipalities, school districts and public authorities with various financial advisory services.
According to the Moody’s Press Release, “The upgrade to Aa1 reflects the improvement in the county’s financial position that is expected to remain steady going forward in part due to conservative budgeting around the county’s sales tax receipts which are up 4% year to date. Additionally, the upgrade reflects the reduction in the county’s long term liability profile with no additional debt expected following the issuance of the 2024 notes.”
County Chairman Patrick S. Linger notes “Our Greene County Legislature’s conservative, forward-looking fiscal policies continue to deliver value to our residents and support financial sustainability and economic confidence. This upgrade to our credit rating will save substantial tax-payer dollars as we continue to upgrade and improve our communities with capital projects that benefit all.”
County Administrator Shaun Groden noted “The County Legislature and its financial management team continues to make fiscal responsibility core to everything they do. The practices they employ are a major part of the reason Greene County has received its second upgrade in five years.”
The county’s fiscal strength is attributable in no small part to the vision and discipline of long-serving County Treasurer, Peter Markou, who passed away earlier this year.
This rating puts Greene County among 7 non-NYC counties, including Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Saratoga. Of those counties with the rating of Aa1 or higher, Greene County is the only one to be considered Rural/Non-urban.
