The City of Rochester recently received the highest ‘AAA’ bond rating from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) for the City’s series 2015 limited-tax general obligation capital improvement bonds financing its Parking Platform Construction Project.
Rochester joins the very few Michigan communities with an ‘AAA’ bond rating and is just one of two cities with a population of less than 20,000 to receive this highest rating from S&P. The ‘AAA’ rating is based on many factors, including strong management conditions with good financial policies and practices, strong budgetary performance, and a very strong local economy. According to the press release, Rochester’s prior rating from 2009 was S&P’s second-highest rating of ‘AA+’.
Mayor Jeffrey T. Cuthbertson said of the designation, “This ‘AAA’ rating does not happen by accident. It is the result of clear and careful policy from City Council and great management performance by City Administration implementing fiscally-conservative budgets which have consistently delivered high-quality local services at a fair price. Despite economic challenges of the recent past, this approach has been a recipe for success for the City and it is great to have S&P recognize our performance.”
City Manager Jaymes Vettraino commented, “The ‘AAA’ rating represents a great endorsement from S&P of the financial and physical operations of the City. Every employee, elected official, citizen, business and visitor to our community should be proud of this accomplishment and deserve a big ‘thank you’ for their contributions to make this possible. Rochester remains focused on providing the highest-quality services, and while the opinions of our residents, businesses and visitors is the ultimate measure of success, receiving S&P’s ‘AAA’ approval is a wonderful validation of our work on our customers’ behalf.”
“In particular, I would also like to recognize the City’s finance department, Bond Counsel, Tom Colis, Miller Canfield Financial Consultant, Tom Traciak, H.J. Umbaugh & Associate for their work in preparing the submissions to S&P. They did a very good job presenting the City in a way that S&P could understand the Rochester success story from many miles away,” City Manager Vettraino added.
With 26 offices around the world and a history that dates back more than 150 years, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services provides high-quality market intelligence in the form of credit ratings, research, and thought leadership.
For more information about the City of Rochester’s ‘AAA’ bond rating, contact the City at 248/651-9061 or visit: www.rochestermi.org.