Posted in Government News

Local towns cautious but confident in credit ratings

Wayland Town Crier 8/9/11:  Local towns cautious but confident in credit ratings. The historic downgrade of the federal government's credit rating has trickled down to Massachusetts municipalities, but treasurers in area towns are cautiously optimistic they'll still be able to borrow at low rates.

Some local communities' credit ratings have come under scrutiny, with the volatility across government ratings leaving other towns wondering what could happen to interest rates as they try to finance projects.

Since the recent fight in Congress to raise the country's debt ceiling, Moody's Investors Service lowered its outlook for 12 Massachusetts towns, including Wayland and Weston, from stable to negative. Those towns keep their AAA ratings, the highest possible, but the change in outlook means Moody's is wary that those towns' ratings will remain at AAA over the next year or two.

Town staff in those communities, though, insist they're just as fiscally sound today as they've ever been.

Continue Reading...
Posted in Government News

Moody’s Still to Review Wayland’s Credit Rating?

Wayland Patch 8/2/11: Moody's Still to Review Wayland's Credit Rating?. Late last week, Moody’s Investors Service announced it had placed Wayland and several other Massachusetts towns under review for possible downgrade of their Aaa bond ratings, in light of the federal debt ceiling wrangling. The agreement was reached in Washington; was approved by both U.S. House and Senate and, just hours ago, Pres. Barack Obama signed the bill, ending the debt ceiling battle and averting possible default on U.S. debt. So will this stave off the national credit downgrade and review of local ratings? There has been question about why specific cities and towns such as Wayland were picked for early review. Brookline Finance Department Director Stephen Cirillo explained that, as the nation's bond rating faced a possible downgrade, Moody's had to ask the question whether a state or town government could have a rating higher than that of its sovereign nation. Cirillo said that it is possible, but before Moody's would allow it, the agency must review the credit ratings, beginning with the Aaa-rated communities. In Massachusetts, this includes, among others, Acton, Brookline, Newton, Wayland and Weston, and the Lincoln-Sudbury school district.

Continue Reading...