Philadelphia

Montgomery County Described as ‘Healthy' Financially by Debt Rating Agency Moody's

Montgomery County maintained its good borrowing rating from one of Wall Street's biggest bond analysts, which described the county as being in a "healthy financial position."

The rating by Moody's comes as the county is issuing two general obligation debt bonds totaling $51 million, which will pay down previous loans taken out by the county last decade.

Moody's rated the county Aa1, which is the second highest grade below only AAA.

"The Aa1 rating incorporates the county's sizeable tax base with above-average wealth indices located in the Philadelphia metro area, healthy financial position, low debt burden, and below average pension obligation," Moody's said in a release Wednesday. "The stable outlook reflects the county's healthy financial position, which we expect will be maintained over the medium term."

The new general obligation (GO) bonds from the county will release debt from riskier and higher-interest "swaps" that county officials from previous administrations entered into prior to the Great Recession, according to current finance officials.

County Commissioner Josh Shapiro, who voted to approve the new GO bonds at a commission meeting two months ago, said the current administration has righted the ship following the tumultuous financial situation that faced the county in the last decade.

"Moody’s has re-confirmed that the county is on the right track and our responsible fiscal policies have established a stable and strong economy and are setting us up for a secure financial future,” said Shapiro, who is commission chair. “Given where we were only a few short years ago – with huge budget deficits and a failure to address our financial obligations – the turnaround is quite remarkable. In fact, our fiscal management policies and our significant fund balance were sufficient to meet the most extreme fiscal circumstances the County has faced in decades.”

Contact Us