Even as headlines and talking heads exclaim harsh financial times via rising gas prices and the increasing cost of food, the good times continue in Prince George’s. For the first time ever, Prince George’s achieved an AAA bond rating from Wall Street.
Last week, Standard & Poor’s, one of the three bond rating agencies on Wall Street, lifted Prince George’s general obligation bonds to AAA from AA+. The new rating will apply to some $110 million in bonds that will be sold by the county in the coming weeks. The bonds will cover the addition of new schools, libraries and police stations, and the better rate will translate into savings in the millions of dollars.
Triple A Bond celebration / Photo: Michael Yourishin
S&P said the county’s upgraded rating is based on the continued strength of Prince’s George’s financial strength that has weathered various economic cycles. Additionally, S&P noted that the county has generated consistent surpluses which have contributed to a very strong reserve despite the occurrence of tax-rate constraints.
The rating agency was also impressed by the county’s robust economic development and its growing $73 billion tax base. In the past, S&P was concerned about provisions that limit that rate of property taxes in the county. However such concerns were alleviated by Prince George’s track record of good financial performance and management’s ability to control spending.
Since the beginning of this administration, we set our sights on getting an AAA bond rating for the county,” said County Executive Jack Johnson in a statement. “My goal has always been to demonstrate good financial leadership, not just for the time I was in office, but as a model for a future of sustainable good government.”
He continued, “Our presentation to the Wall Street rating agencies three weeks ago has shown them the county’s financial processes, our commitment to strong financial leadership and our ability to maintain growth and prosperity during tough economic times. This historic AAA rating reaffirms our solid performance and strong fiscal discipline.”
The county said that during Johnson’s presentation on Wall Street, he focused on Prince George’s past successes and the major economic development projects that are generating significant revenues.
Over the past several years, Prince George’s has been in the midst of an economic boom led by massive development projects. Among them, National Harbor on the banks of the Potomac, Konterra in Laurel, University Town center in Hyattsville, the University of Maryland’s M-Square Research Development Park, and East Campus, a new mixed use project in College Park that is two times the size of downtown Silver Spring.
--PGS Staff
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