Standard & Poors Reaffirms West Hartford's 'AAA Stable' Rating

A report released Friday confirms that Standard & Poors has issued a rating of "AAA Stable" for West Hartford's General Obligation debt.

When asked for his comments about a report issued by Moody's earlier in the week, which assigned West Hartford a "Aaa" Rating but with a negative outlook, Town Manager Ron Van Winkle said he was already aware of the favorable Standard & Poors rating but was awaiting the final report. [Note: Aaa and AAA have the same meaning; rating agencies just use a different format.]

"S&P has been rating our bonds for many decades, and we have been 'AAA Stable' for many years," Van Winkle said. He called the Standard & Poors report "glowing" and said that, as in past ratings, the report contained positive comments about the Town's debt ratios and financial resources.

The report received from Standard & Poors reads, "The ratings reflect our assessment of the town's:

• Affluent and stable residential property tax base in the Hartford metropolitan area;
• Very strong household income levels and extremely strong per capita market values;
• Historically stable financial performance, good reserves, and strong financial management practices; and
• Low-to-moderate debt burden with rapid amortization."

In meetings with both Standard & Poors and Moody's, Van Winkle had discussed the plans to utilize the Town's fund balance to pay for what could amount to $3 million of unprecedented costs resulting from the October storm clean-up.

"S&P recognized that it was a one-time event. The purpose of the fund balance is for an emergency," he said.

Assignment of the "AAA" rating should allow West Hartford to secure the lowest available interest rates for the $15 million General Obligation bond offering scheduled for March 1.

"This is the highest possible rating you can get – the best of the best. Having S&P measure us and say this is a feather in our cap. We work hard to sustain this," Van Winkle said.

Moody's also assigned West Hartford the "Aaa" rating, despite the negative outlook. West Hartford pays a fee, about $20,000, to receive a bond rating from each outside agency. Van Winkle said the Town will have to consider whether or not it is necessary to receive ratings from two agencies, or if one would be sufficient.

Van Winkle said the Town plans to address the concerns raised by Moody's.