Inside Stories

S&P Affirms Chelmsford’s ‘AAA’ Bond Rating

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings yesterday affirmed the Town of Chelmsford’s ‘AAA’ bond rating with a stable outlook. The announcement comes in advance of the Town borrowing $8.825M for capital improvements on June 17th.

The credit report highlights the Town’s “consistent financial performance, strong management, and uptick in reserves over several years.”

“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the town will continue to produce at least balanced operating results and maintain reserve levels that provide flexibility to address potential future operating pressures from its retirement liabilities,” the report goes on to state.

“The continued AAA bond rating indicates that the Town of Chelmsford is prepared for the challenges and opportunities that are ahead,” Town Manager Paul Cohen tells InsideLowell.

The ratings agency does note that “we could lower the rating if the town’s available reserves deteriorate due to weakening budgetary performance or if debt-and-liability metrics fall further out of line with those of similarly rated peers, particularly if its pension contribution cost or liabilities increase.”

The report also expresses concerns regarding the Town’s pension and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liabilities.

(Click here to view the full S&P report)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *