Town's Credit Rating Boosted

Mount Pleasant has been issued a big boost to its ability to borrow at low interest rates, officials announced Tuesday at the town council meeting.

Moody's Investors Service has upgraded to Aa1 from Aa2 the town’s obligation bonds. The move insures the town will get lower interest rates when it borrows money.

"This is great news for the citizens and businesses of Mount Pleasant," said Mayor Billy Swails. "The new rating reflects our community’s sound financial position. I commend our town’s efforts in fiscal responsibility and sound planning."

Aa1 is the second-highest credit score offered by Moody's to gauge credit worthiness for long-term unsecured debts and contracts. Aaa is the best rating, though both scores and seven below it are all considered "prime" scores in determining short-term credit worthiness, according to Moody's fact sheet on the topic.

While other municipalities, and even the federal government, have seen credit ratings slide in recent years, town officials say their early planning and cuts helped stave off financial troubles. Charleston County, however, has the highest possible credit rating from all three major credit rating agencies.

"Ahead of the Great Recession, we controlled our expenditures to mitigate any significant draws on reserves," said Councilman Elton Carrier, who chairs the finance committee. "Our hiring freezes and cost cutting measures helped us strengthen our general fund balance."

In 2011, Mount Pleasant squirreled away another $2 million into its $17.5 million fund balance. That total pot equal to roughly 1/3 of the town's yearly revenue.

"Our financial present is bright and our future is promising," said Chief Financial Officer Charlie Potts. "Moody’s expects the local economy to remain stable. We continue to take steps to increase our financial flexibility, manage our debt and repay our debt burden rapidly, within 10 years."

The town's finances have been so rosy that within the last 12 months it has wrapped several initiatives that weren't cheap and it talked about future big expenditures. It launched a new website, opened a $8.5 million park and town leaders are discussing plans for a new town hall.

Mount Pleasant Key Statistics:
• 2010 Population: 67,843 (42.5% increase from 2000 Census)
• 2012 Full Valuation: $12.4 billion
• 2012 Full Value Per Capita: $182,325
• Overall Debt Burden as % of FV: 1.5%
• Direct Debt Burden as % of FV: 0.5%
• Payout of Principal (10 years): 100%
• 2010 Per Capita Income (as % of SC and US): (174.9% and 151.6%)
• 2010 Median Family Income (as % of SC and US): (172.6% and 151.0%)
• Fiscal 2011 General Fund Balance: $17.5 million (30.8% of 2011 General Fund Revenues)