Freeport earns Moody’s A1 rating

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The Village of Freeport bond rating is A1. According to Moody’s Investor Service, the village’s financial standing is strong and is a low credit risk.

The village received the A1 bond rating on Monday, July 27, for its general obligation bonds, affecting $112.9 million of outstanding debt.

On June 19, the village had received an A1 rating with a “negative outlook,” which was removed on Monday after Moody’s reviewed additional documents from the village.

“Paperwork under the previous administration had not been filed in a timely manner,” Michael Fricchione, a village spokesman said.

In its newest report, Moody’s said that “The A1 underlying rating incorporates the village’s above-average wealth indices, manageable debt burden, adequate financial reserves and sizable tax base with ongoing tax certiorari claims.”

Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said that he was extremely pleased the village has received the news. “The upgraded rating serves as firm evidence of the Village’s great fiscal improvement, financial stability and strength as a municipality. As we move forward, we hope to always maintain the highest-caliber ratings possible from the nation’s credit-rating agencies, which are watched closely on Wall Street and in the financial services industry.”

Moody’s said that the village has a “healthy commercial component and that its financial position has been helped by the sale of Village land and property totaling $2.9 million in 2014, $1.2 million in 2015 and an anticipated $3.4 million in 2016.

Additionally, the 2014 and 2015 village budgets cut expenditures, preserved village services and provided a zero tax increase for residents.