By Hank Russell
Both Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings have assigned an AAA rating with a stable outlook to the Town of Brookhaven. This is the seventh consecutive year the town has received an Aaa rating from Moody’s – which is the highest rating the Wall Street rating agency offers.
In addition, S&P Global Ratings has assigned its ‘AAA’ long-term rating to Brookhaven Town’s $45.5 million series 2025A general obligation (GO) serial bonds and its $17.4 million series 2025B GO refunding serial bonds. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable and reflects S&P Global Ratings’ view that Brookhaven will likely maintain strong overall finances throughout the two-year outlook, supported by a strong economy and manageable fixed-cost debt.
To determine what the ratings mean, according to Finance Unlocked, “An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.” For Moody’s, “Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk,” according to the website.
“The affirmation of the strong finances of Brookhaven Town is a credit to the long-term fiscal planning practices and core management team that we have instituted and kept in place for over a decade. Our stellar credit rating exceeds that of even the US government,” said Supervisor Panico. “We will continue to be mindful of our finances. Our AAA bond rating enables us to build capital improvements at a far superior interest rate, thus saving taxpayers money.”
The town’s finance liaison, Councilwoman Jane Bonner said, “For more than a decade, the Town’s financial position has been gaining strength. As a result, we have maintained our superior bond rating despite the downturn in the economy. I’m proud to work with Supervisor Panico and our financial team at Town Hall as we continue to spend wisely and always have a sharp eye on the bottom line.”
Moody’s cites “Brookhaven benefits from a large and diverse tax base conveniently located in Suffolk County with relatively easy access to New York City,” according to the Moody’s report. “The local economy is also a strength, given significant institutional presences provided by Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University. The town also benefits from strong fiscal management and ample reserves and liquidity. The strong management team continues to actively manage the loss of landfill revenues, a significant source of General Fund revenues.”
According to the Moody’s Credit opinion, “The Town of Brookhaven’s reserves will remain healthy over the next three years given conservative budgeting and active management of day-to-day operations,” and it also benefits from “strong fiscal management.”
The S&P report says, “AAA rating reflects Brookhaven’s continued positive operation, supported by the town’s robust management framework, which we expect will support positive operations even with transitioning revenue framework for its general fund. In addition, Brookhaven’s expanding tax base, with numerous residential and commercial projects, further supports the town’s transition to being primarily funded by property taxes rather than landfill revenue. With rapidly amortizing debt and an aggressive approach to leveraging grant money for capital projects, we expect the town will maintain balanced operations.”