Fund Balance, Assessables Help Mt. Pleasant Upgrade to Triple A Rating
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For the first time in more than a decade the Town of Mount Pleasant has recently been upgraded to a Triple A bond rating by Moody’s Investors Services.
which could save the municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars in future borrowing.
On May 12, town officials received word that the municipality received the highest rating, Aaa with a stable outlook, up from the Aa1 designation that was assigned nearly four years ago with no outlook assigned.
“Fiscal 2022 is trending positively in all major funds,” Moody’s wrote in its message to the town. “While some departmental income revenues continue to trail historical norms, sales taxes through the first quarter have been very strong. While inflation may tamper sales tax revenues over the next year, management’s conservatism is likely to offset any pull back.”
Helping the town achieve the coveted rating is a robust fund balance of $19.9 million at the close of 2021, according to Moody’s report. The town’s tax base of $10.8 billion is also healthy and that is expected to grow as new commercial and residential projects are built.
Comptroller Brian Kenneally said the major advantage for the town having a Aaa bond rating is the money it could save on future borrowing. On a $20 million bond, for example, if the town were to receive even a .25 percent reduction in interest rates, that could come to as much as $50.000 a year, he said.
“It’s all about saving money on interest because we are borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars on bonds,” Kenneally said.
In addition to the attentiveness of Kenneally and the Town Board, Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said Mount Pleasant has been served well by department leaders.
“The department heads have been pretty responsive watching,” Fulgenzi said. “Everyone wants more money, everyone wants to make more money, and we have over the years, slowly been trying to bring our employees to a different level.”
Since the aftermath of the Great Recession, Mount Pleasant has been at an Aa 1 or and Aa2.
