The City of Marion Deputy Auditor Cathy Chaffin announced at Marion City Council’s Finance Committee meeting Monday night that two bond rating agencies have given the City their highest rating.
After a recent review of the City’s finances, Standard & Poor’s has issued the City an A+ rating while Moody’s increased their rating from A3 to A1.
“I cannot stress enough how hard it is to increase your bond rating right now,” said Chaffin as she thanked several member of the City administration for their work during the rating review.
Chaffin says the ratings will help the City to continue saving on interest incurred by outstanding bonds. The City has been looked at re-issuing the bonds to get a more favorable interest rate. The initial reports showed the City could save significantly with the re-issuing. However, Chaffin says the new ratings could result in an additional $60,000 of savings each year, boosting the total savings to over $450,000.
Marion City Councilman Ralph Cumston comment, “This really speaks volumes to the City’s financial maintenance and ability to weather the storm.”
Chaffin explained that the City’s annual budget carry-over average of $2 million made a big impact with the rating companies. The importance of keeping that carry-over fund has been stressed each year when the City Administration and Council work on the annual budget.
Marion Mayor Scott Schertzer said the major bonuses for the City with the reviewers included their financial situation with the carry over, not laying off safety service employees, budgeting, and their annexation policy.
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