Standard and Poor's increases Danbury's Bond Rating.

OK this is all about inside baseball as it relates to the City of Danbury's finances but this is still a huge deal. Earlier this week after their analysis was completed, Standard and Poor's notified us that our bond rating would be increased from AA to AA plus.

Standard and Poor's is one of the premier rating agencies in the country. They reviewed our bonding, and in direct conflict with some of the political grandstanding that you have heard about us being "over bonded" S&P characterized our capital improvement program and borrowing as "conservative" here is a direct quote from the report:

"...the overall net debt burden remains low compared to market value."

In addition, the report said:

"...Debt amortization is sound, with 64% of long-term debt outstanding retired on 10 years, and carrying charges are low at 5% of operations"

Finally, the report had a lot to say about the financial operations of the city. It states that "our financial position has increased to a strong level in recent years."Why should you care? Because a higher bond rating means that city will pay lower interest rates when it borrows for projects. This will save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest payments in the future.

There are a lot of people to thank for this achievement, our Finance Department led by Director of Finance David St Hilaire, our Director of Economic Development Wayne Shepperd, and Mike McLachlan in my office all should be recognized for their hard work. Great job by all!!