Village Gets AA1 Rating For Bonds

Citing Garden City's strong financial position and conservative budgeting practices, Moody's Investors Service last week assigned an AA1 bond rating to the Village's sale of general obligation bonds - Moody's second highest rating.

The Village's $7.7 million in bonds were sold this week to provide funds for library, recreation and water infrastructure improvements. :"Because of our excellent rating," said Mayor Peter A. Bee, "the Village got significant savings in our cost to borrow funds. We received seven bids for an interest rate of 3.3 percent.. Those savings will benefit our taxpayers."

In assigning the rating, the bond rating firm said, "Moody's expects the Village's financial position to remain strong given conservative budget practices." It also cited an average 13.1 percent annual increase in the full value of residential and commercial properties in the last five years and a "strong" full value per capita of $320,037 on a total valuation of $6.9 billion.

Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle added, "This excellent rating reflects the sound fiscal decisions of our Board of Trustees and the professional execution of those policies by our fiscal staff, lead by Village Auditor James Olivo. Sound budgeting has always been a priority in Garden City and will remain so."

Moody's said the overall debt load of the Village was manageable but said that the practice of keeping two percent in undesignated reserves was "narrow" and added that using reserves to balance the budget "could strain financial flexibility if favorable budgetary performance does not continue."

Bee added, "As economic conditions change, the Village must change with them to assure that Village services are maintained at a prudent cost to our residents. We are beginning our four-week budget process on Jan. 31 and we strongly urge residents to be a part of this process so that they can understand and help shape our budget."