Rating agencies reaffirm Brookhaven’s “Double Triple-A” credit rating

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s give Brookhaven highest grade

Brookhaven, GA, Jan. 7, 2019 –Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s Investor Services (Moody’s) have again graded the financial health, management and fiscal policies of the City of Brookhaven, each giving the City the highest rating: S&P rated Brookhaven AAA, Moody’s awarded the City Aaa. 

These ratings, which apply to Brookhaven’s $40 million parks bond, reaffirm the highest ratings originally received in July 2018 for the bond for the construction of the Peachtree Creek Greenway, financed using a dedicated portion of Brookhaven’s Hotel-Motel tax receipts. 

“The overwhelming majority of people believe in their local governments and want a world-class park system that their families can enjoy in the near-term,” said Mayor John Ernst.  “The evaluations from Moody’s and S&P are a powerful endorsement of fiscal stewardship and pave the way for us to get the job done.”

“As the CFO for Brookhaven, my mission is to continue the implementation of strong financial policies and controls.  The triple-A ratings from S&P and Moody’s allow us to get the best interest rates possible, which gives Brookhaven the biggest bang for the buck,” said Brookhaven CFO Steven Chapman.

When describing their evaluation in their Jan. 4 report, Moody’s cited “[the] city’s large, growing tax base with strong resident income and wealth levels, a healthy financial position and manageable fixed cost.”

In its Jan. 7 report, S&P said “The 'AAA' rating reflects the underlying strength of the economy, reflected in the area's very strong wealth and income levels and growing employment base…Brookhaven's bonds are eligible to be rated above the sovereign because we believe the city can maintain better credit characteristics than the nation in a stress scenario.”

S&P attributed its rating to the following:

  • Very strong economy, with access to a broad and diverse metropolitan statistical area (MSA);

  • Very strong management, with "strong" financial policies and practices under our Financial Management Assessment (FMA) methodology;

  • Very strong budgetary performance, with operating surpluses in the general fund and at the total governmental fund level in fiscal 2017;

  • Very strong budgetary flexibility, with an available fund balance in fiscal 2017 of 40% of operating expenditures.

“With financing in place, the real work begins,” said Mayor John Ernst.  “We have a lot on our plates, but soon you will see improvements happening throughout the Brookhaven park system."

###

Media Contacts:
Burke Brennan
Director of Communications
404-637-0709
burke.brennan@brookhavenga.gov

  • Printer-friendly version