Cohoes credit rating lookin’ ‘good’
S& P upgrades city’s rating from ‘standard’
COHOES, N.Y. » Officials say they are pleased to see the city’s credit rating was recently upgraded.
According to a news release from Mayor Shawn Morse’s Office, S& P reaffirmed the city’s ‘AA-’ rating and stable outlook, and upgraded its Financial Management Assessment from “standard” to “good.” According S&P, the city has: • Strong management, with standard financial policies and practices under our Financial Management Assessment (FMA) methodology, as well as the ability to consistently maintain balanced operations;
• Strong budgetary perfor- mance, with an operating surplus in the general fund and breakeven operating results at the total- governmental- fund level in fiscal 2017;
• Very strong budgetary flexibility, with an available fund balance in fiscal 2017 of 25% of operating expenditures;
• Very strong liquidity, with total government available cash at 13.8% of total-governmental-fund expenditures and 2.2x governmental debt service, and access to external liquidity we consider strong;
•Strong debt-an d-contingent-liability position, with debt service carrying charges at 6.3% of expenditures and net direct debt that is 52.2% of total-governmental-fund revenue, as well as rapid amortization, with 71.8% of debt scheduled to be retired within 10 years, but a large pension and other-post- employment-benefit (OPEB) obligation and the lack of a plan to sufficiently address the obligation;
• Adequate economy, with projected per capita effective buying income at 92.5% of the national level and market value per capita of $49,474, that benefits from access to a broad and diverse metropolitan statistical area (MSA); and
• Strong institutional framework score.
“This is excellent news for our City,” said Morse. “It shows we are working hard and keeping an eye on the taxpayer’s money, yet, at the same time, we are getting a lot of work done in the City,” said Morse. He added that this is a direct reflection of the city’s economic development growth with over 100 million dollars in private investment, sound operating policies, conservative budgeting practices, and a commitment to “our fiduciary duties.”
S&P also stated that Cohoes’ budgetary performance is strong and that the city had surplus operating results in the general fund of 3.2% of expenditures and balanced results across all governmental funds of 0.1 percent of expenditures in fiscal 2017. S&P metrics include adjustments to general fund revenue and expenditures related to recurring transfers in from the water and sewer funds and into the library fund to support operations.
Overall, the city has closed with general fund surpluses during the past four fiscal years, according to the release. Officials attribute fiscal 2017 general fund performance largely to expenditure savings in salaries and wages due to changes in overtime approval, as well as employee benefits.
Mike Durocher, city comptroller said, “We have seen the value of our City’s grow under Mayor
Morse, with new development, increased revenues, new property taxes and pilots payments on land that has sat vacant for years, we really have seen two incredible years. We are thrilled to maintain our AA- rating with an improved FMA from “standard” to “good.” By retaining the AA- we have one of the best ratings in the Capital Region.”