Chesterfield County’s triple A bond rating reaffirmed by three credit rating agencies

Chesterfield County has maintained its AAA bond rating – the highest credit rating available – from each of the nation’s top three rating agencies — Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Services and Fitch Ratings.

Following meetings last week with county leaders, the county said that each of the  agencies reaffirmed the county’s AAA rating on general obligation bonds, with each agency providing a “stable outlook” indicator.

This means Chesterfield remains in the top 1 percent of counties in the country to carry three, AAA bond ratings.

Standard & Poor’s noted that “Chesterfield County’s general obligation bonds are eligible to be rated above the sovereign because we believe the county can maintain better credit characteristics than the U.S. in a stress scenario.”

Moody’s concluded “the AAA bond rating reflects the county’s strong credit characteristics including a sizeable and diversifying tax base, its carefully managed financial operations with sound reserves and conservative budget management and moderate debt position with manageable future borrowing needs.”

Allan Carmody, director of the county’s department of budget and management, said that maintaining the triple-AAA status “not only ensures access to capital markets at the lowest available rates but is also a strong endorsement of the Board of Supervisors oversight of the county’s financial and management practices and the community’s outlook moving forward.

The rating agencies reviewed the county’s financial position ahead of a bond sale in August that generated $33 million in proceeds to support ongoing school renovation projects. The bonds were sold at an overall interest rate of 2.46 percent.