The nation’s three largest bond-rating agencies have reaffirmed Wake County’s AAA credit rating.
The AAA rating, the highest possible, allows the county to borrow money at lower interest rates for the construction of new schools, a planned courthouse and other public projects.
The New York firms — Moody’s, Standard and Poor's, and Fitch — issued the ratings as the county pursues plans to issue $502 million in fixed-rate general obligation bonds on March 17.
As part of its report on Wake, Fitch issued a “stable outlook” for the county’s finance, despite the turmoil in the national economy. The rating agency said it’s positive assessment was the result of the county’s “excellent financial performance and management, and strong and diverse economic base.”
The Wake County Public School System will get $100 million from the planned bond sale, while Wake Technical Community College projects will receive $35 million. Another $300 million will be used to pay off a short-term loan the county took out last fall to continue construction projects in the face of a collapse in the municipal bond market. The county will also refinance $67.4 million in existing bonds to take advantage of more favorable terms.
Comments
Better than Residents
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 18:03 — eshavmIf only that rating could be applied to the county's residents too. It's great that the local government will be able to use those funds to create some commerce, but that doesn't mean anyone in the population will get any help with their groceries or mortgage loans... The sheer size of governmental credit lines puts them way out of perspective.