The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Middletown maintains AAA bond rating for 7th year in row
MIDDLETOWN — Standard & Poor’s has assigned a AAA bond rating to the city of Middletown for the seventh year in a row.
“This is the highest possible rating for a business or municipality, and reflects the strong and continuing confidence that the market has in the fiscal management and future economic potential of the city,” according to a press release from Mayor Ben Florsheim.
Middletown has steadily increased its bond rating during recent years. In 2014, the city increased from a AA rating to a AA+ rating, which was considered a “great” achievement at that time. In 2016, the city was upgraded to the highest possible rating of AAA and has maintained that elite status for the past seven years, the news release said.
This “excellent rating” is a reflection of the city of Middletown’s financial health and economic stability, the mayor said.
The Standard & Poor’s March 23 report said “the city can maintain better credit characteristics than the nation in a stress scenario.” The report went on to state that “Middletown has maintained, what we consider, strong operating results and consistent budget reserves over several fiscal years, supporting the rating,” the statement said.
“Proactive management and conservative budgeting underpin a history of, what we view as, strong budgetary performance and even stronger reserves,” the mayor added.
The report noted that the AAA rating reflects Standard & Poor’s opinion that Middletown has a very “strong local economy with direct access to a broad, diverse metropolitan statistical area; strong management with good financial-management policies and practices, and a strong institutional framework; strong, stable operations resulting in very strong budgetary flexibility and liquidity; and manageable debt and fixed-cost liabilities.”
Florsheim said the high rating is a testament to the work of the Common Council and finance department, along with “strong efforts made by our administration to promote smart economic development and reduce the cost of living for residents.