Metro’s elected officials, senior management and finance staff were greeted with the welcome news on Wednesday, that Standard & Poor’s has once again granted the regional government a AAA bond rating.
In its report, S&P pointed to Metro's diverse tax base, operational performance, financial policies and reserves and low debt burden as reasons for awarding the AAA rating to its long-term debt. It also pointed to Metro's "low level of funding interdependencies with the federal government."
"We consider Metro's management practices 'strong"' under our Financial Management Assessment methodology," S&P said. "An FMA of 'strong' reflects our view that practices are strong, well embedded, and likely sustainable."
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"The stable outlook reflects our view that Metro's very strong financial position and operational revisions in response to recent operating imbalances will allow it to absorb additional revenue pressures, should they occur," the report said. "We could lower the rating if Metro substantially draws down its reserves, although we believe that outstanding GO authorization to address capital needs makes this unlikely during our two-year outlook horizon."
Metro received similar ratings from S&P and Moody's in May 2011. The bond ratings were part of the reason Metro received a $25 million bond premium in 2012.