City Of Naperville Maintains AAA Bond Rating From Moody's, S&P

NAPERVILLE, IL — The City of Naperville continues to maintain the highest bond rating possible after the city was again received a AAA rating from a pair of investor service organizations, officials said Wednesday.

Reports on Naperville’s general obligation bonds were given the AAA rating by both Standard and Poor’s (S&P) global ratings and Moody’s Investor Services, the city reported. Naperville has maintained a “AAA” rating from both groups for the past two decades, which, city officials said, is reflective of Naperville’s very strong and expanding economy.

The S&P report also cited Naperville’s “several years of surplus financial operations and a very strong reserve and liquidity position, supported by sound management practices and strong institutional framework score.”

Moody’s, meanwhile, cited the “city’s substantial and affluent tax base . . . sound financial profile (and) low debt burden”, city officials said.

The AAA ratings are a testament to the city council and city leadership’s commitment to its financial principles, which have guided the City’s budgetary process since 2015, the city said in a news release.

These principles — passing a structurally balanced operating budget annually, committing to continuous improvement in the delivery of necessary and cost-effective services and actively seeking to increase reserves to 25% and reduce debt by 25% within an eight-year timeframe – provided structure to create a long-term sustainable financial plan for Naperville, the release said.

The rating reviews were performed in conjunction with a planned almost $7 million bond issuance for the City’s Water 2.0 project, which installed approximately 43,500 wireless meter interface units to water meter reading devices or touchpads to transmit wireless remote monthly readings for a better customer billing experience.

A full ranking report for Naperville can be found by clicking here.