First Selectman Vicki Tesoro is pleased to announce that S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings have issued a very strong and favorable bond rating of AA+ to the Town of Trumbull.
The two reputable credit ratings agencies carefully review all pertinent financial documents and conduct meetings with Town Hall management before issuing a long-term bond rating.
S&P Global Ratings stated that financial operations have been steady for the last several years, with the town producing positive operations. General fund revenues are made up primarily of property taxes (85%) and intergovernmental sources (11%) which, along with high budget oversight and expenditure controls, has led to a strong financial position.
Fitch Ratings believes that the town, through its historically conservative financial management, is well-positioned to manage future economic downturns while maintaining a high level of fundamental financial flexibility. The town's strong revenue raising ability, healthy unrestricted fund balance levels and solid control over other expenditures afford the town substantial gap-closing capacity.
First Selectman Vicki Tesoro states, “This good news reaffirms that Trumbull is in very good financial standing.” According to both S&P and Fitch the Town’s pension liabilities continue to be the major factor keeping Trumbull from attaining a higher credit rating. However, according to S&P, countering this liability is a debt burden that is manageable, with low annual costs. Although S&P believes Trumbull is likely to sustain its elevated pension burden, S&P believes management will likely continue to monitor revenue growth and exercise expenditure controls to maintain reserves above its stated policy level of 10%.
“I am pleased that our conservative approach to Trumbull’s budgetary needs continues to be recognized by the ratings agencies. A strong credit rating allows the Town of Trumbull to borrow money at a lower interest rate over a long period of time, and that is always good news for the people of Trumbull. Due to our high budget oversight, we have been able to maintain our AA+ bond rating over the last several years despite the challenging economic conditions,” stated First Selectman Vicki Tesoro.