St. Louis County retains AA+ credit rating

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County Auditor-Treasurer  • 100 North Fifth Avenue West, Room 214 • Duluth, MN 55802
Phone: (218) 726-2380 • www.stlouiscountymn.gov

Donald Dicklich
St. Louis County Auditor-Treasurer

NEWS RELEASE

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
August 8, 2016

CONTACT: Don Dicklich, County Auditor

(218) 726-2380


St. Louis County retains AA+ S&P rating, plans to issue bonds Tuesday

Welcome news for St. Louis County and its tax payers: Standard and Poor's Ratings Service has re-affirmed the County's AA+ credit rating. This comes on the eve of a large planned sale of $25 million of General Obligation capital improvement bonds to fund road and bridge improvement projects, and $15.5 million of General Obligation capital improvement refunding bonds to refinance earlier projects.


The AA+ rating makes the County's debt offering more attractive to investors and lowers the cost of borrowing. St. Louis County has held an AA+ rating since November 2013. The rating is just one step below the highest possible rating of AAA.


The St. Louis County Board is expected to authorize the bond sale at its meeting on Tuesday, August 8, in Hibbing. The $25 million bond sale will further the County's efforts to improve its vast infrastructure of 3,000 miles of roads and 600 bridges. It is similar to one offered last year, with the borrowed money to be paid back with revenue from the Transportation Sales Tax.


In its report, S&P listed multiple favorable conditions in the County that factored in its assessment, including a strong economy, strong management, and very strong budgetary performance.


"To first achieve, and then maintain, this high rating for nearly three years is a testament to the hard work and innovative thinking of so many people," said Commissioner Keith Nelson, who chairs the Board's Finance Committee. "It tells our taxpayers that we are responsible and prudent with their money on every level  the Board, our teams working in the Auditor's Office and Administration, our department heads and staff."


For more information about St. Louis County, its budget practices, or its plan to invest in county roads and bridges, visit stlouiscountymn.gov.

 

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