Moody’s - Standard & Poor’s Both Affirm Town’s High Bond Rating

In a vote of confidence from Wall Street, Standard & Poor’s recently affirmed its bond rating of AA/Stable for the Town of Berlin. In similar fashion, Moody’s affirmed the Town’s Aa2 rating.  

These ratings apply to all General Obligation Bonds guaranteed by the Town and allows Berlin to utilize bond proceeds to finance capital projects and make open space acquisitions, when appropriate or necessary, at very low rates of interest.  

“This represents Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s continued confidence in Berlin and ensures our ability to maintain lower costs for future financing.  In light of the ongoing economic crisis, and at a time when many municipalities are being downgraded, these ratings are remarkable and extraordinary.  This is an affirmation of the effectiveness of our ongoing effort at fiscal restraint and our business-like approach to cutting costs”, commented Mayor Adam Salina.  

Standard & Poor’s credit analysts noted that the AA rating reflected its opinion of the Town’s strong and stable financial profile, citing Berlin’s maintenance of both a strong fund balance and a manageable capital improvement program.  

Regarding Berlin’s financial outlook, Standard and Poor’s stated, “The stable outlook reflects Standard & Poor’s expectation that Berlin’s economic and tax bases will continue to steadily grow and diversify, thereby mitigating potential tax revenue volatility.  The outlook also reflects our expectation that the town’s financial position will remain favorable, bolstered by good management practices and policies.”  

Commenting on their ratings rationale, Moody’s commented, “The Aa2 rating incorporates the town’s stable financial operations with healthy reserve levels, moderately-sized tax base with above average wealth and income levels, and a manageable debt burden.”  

Mayor Salina further commented that, “Berlin’s financial position continues to be solid.  Our approach to debt service has been to pay it if off as quickly as possible and that has helped to secure this very favorable rating.  These ratings are particularly significant given the large school projects/renovations that are currently underway.”