Croton Officials Hope to Save $160K with Bond Refinancing

Croton-on-Hudson village officials hope to save at least $160,000 through the refinancing of a little less than $3.5 million in public improvement serial bonds.

The village had its  Aa2 bond rating reaffirmed on the $18.75 million it still owes, but was given a negative outlook by Moody's Investors Service, the firm announced Friday.

An Aa2 rating, which is the second highest, means the village  is considered high quality and low risk credit wise.

“We have had that rating for a few years,” said village Manager Abraham Zambrano. “The village has been fortunate that we’ve been able to maintain our fund balances the past few years. Moody’s has recognized how well we’ve managed our financials, so they do take that into consideration.”

Zambrano said the village is planning to retire some bonds from 2002 to 2005 and plans to go out to market with the $3,445,000 bonds later this week.

Moody’s did warn that the village, like other municipalities in the state, faced to challenge of paying for fixed costs like employee retirement and health insurance.

The report also said that the village could see its bond rating improve with sizeable growth in the village tax base from commercial and residential development.