By Hank Russell
Suffolk County just received an increase in its short-term ratings from both Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. The announcement was made by Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine.
Fitch Ratings assigned an A rating to Suffolk County’s $46.8 million GO refunding serial bonds and a F1+ rating for the county’s upcoming sale of $350 million of tax anticipation notes. The report indicates the county’s rating outlook is positive.
According to Fitch Ratings’ website, an A rating “denote expectations of low default risk,” and a F1 rating “[i]ndicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments relative to other issuers or obligations in the same country. … Where the liquidity profile is particularly strong, a “+” is added to the assigned rating.”
According to Fitch’s report, “the Positive Outlook reflects Fitch’s expectations for the county’s continued budgetary stability and maintenance of a sound reserve position.”
S&P Global Ratings assigned an AA- long-term rating to Suffolk County’s $46.8 million GO refunding bonds and a SP-1+ short-term rating to the County’s $350 million tax anticipation notes. S&P’s outlook on the long-term ratings is stable.
An AA- rating means its “capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.” The SP-1+ rating shows the county “possess[es] a very strong capacity to pay debt service,” based on information from Bond Desk.
According to S&P’s report, the long-term rating reflects “the county’s stronger management practices and financial performance that have paved the way to historical levels of reserves and budgetary flexibility heading into fiscal 2025.”
“Suffolk County continues to implement fiscally sound policies that make our County safer and more affordable,” said Romaine. “Two separate rating agencies have increased the County’s ratings for the upcoming sale of tax anticipation notes to each agency’s highest rating level for short-term borrowing notes. The increased ratings affirms our commitment of a responsible government to our residents as we will save millions of taxpayer dollars over the long-term.”