County of Gwinnett issued the following announcement on Aug. 17.
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Gwinnett has again been proven a top-tier county with a top grade. For more than 20 years, Gwinnett County has received a rare AAA/Aaa bond rating from all three rating agencies.
The prestigious ratings determine a county’s credit worthiness, which in turn allows the County to issue or refinance bonds at favorable rates – reducing the amount of interest paid over the term of the bonds.
“It’s extremely gratifying that the experienced analysts at the rating agencies examined our finances with a critical eye and gave us their highest rating,” said Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “These high marks should tell residents that they can be confident Gwinnett County is managing their money in a conservative and responsible way even as we continue to deliver award-winning, high-quality services.”
The review by the three credit rating agencies was part of a bond refinancing effort for $65.13 million in water and sewer bonds issued in 2011. The refinancing will save Gwinnett ratepayers an estimated $7.4 million in interest payments over the next four years.
In their analyses of Gwinnett County’s finances, the bond rating agencies – Moody’s Investors Services, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings – cited the County’s stability, strong fiscal position, strong budgetary performance and flexibility, low debt and pension burdens and strong management and financial policies as reasons for the high scores.
Analysts at S&P Global praised the County’s leadership saying, “Gwinnett County's strong management team and conservative planning practices underpin the 'AAA' long-term rating.”
The Moody’s report stated, “The county's long-term liabilities are very manageable and the net direct debt burden is very low due to the self-supporting nature of water and sewer bonds and the use of Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST) revenue to fund pay-go capital projects.
Gwinnett is one of just 50 counties nationwide to receive the triple AAA/Aaa grade – that’s out of 3,000 counties across the country.
Original source can be found here.
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