Strong Credit Rating for City on Latest Bond Sale

PEABODY, MA - Peabody continues to benefit from a strong credit rating and low interest rate on bonds for several city projects, most notably at the Higgins Middle School.

Moody’s Investors Service assigned an Aa1 rating to the city’s March 15 sale of $15,000,000 of General Obligation Bonds and $2,725,000 of Refunding Bonds and a MIG 1 rating to $15.8 million General Obligation Bond Anticipation Notes (BANs). The city’s long term credit rating of Aa1 was also reaffirmed by Moody’s.

The bond sale included $15,000,000 for the new Higgins Middle School and a Refunding Bond related to 2017 General Obligation Bonds issued for high school repairs, City Hall improvements, outdoor recreation and sewer upgrades.

“We’re obviously very pleased with the results of this note sale,” said Mayor Edward Bettencourt, Jr. “Peabody’s strong ‘Aa1’ credit rating and the continuing low interest rate market enable us to make critical investments in Peabody’s future while saving taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges.”

The mayor further reported that the net interest rate on the total bond sale of $17,725,000 was 2.514% and the city received six very competitive bids for the bonds from various financial institutions. The sale of the $15,800,00 in Bond Anticipation Notes was also very favorable. The net interest rate was .5890% and the city received six very competitive bids on the BANs from various financial institutions.

Overall, Moody’s cited the City’s sizeable and diverse tax base, unused property tax levy capacity, stable financial position and a manageable debt burden as positive credit factors that enable the City to maintain its strong Aa1 credit rating. Aa1 is the second highest credit rating a municipality can earn and puts Peabody in a position to have one of the strongest bond ratings in the state.