Standard and Poor's (S&P) has issued a AA rating for Dartmouth's general obligation bonds. The bond rating company said this about our town's financial position,
"Based on a review of several key financial practices, Dartmouth's financial management practices are considered "good" under Standard & Poor's Financial Management Assessment. The town is thorough in its budget preparation and forecasting processes, conservative in nature with assumptions borne out by variance analyses. Along with the budget, management creates a five-year capital improvement plan that identifies funding sources and a three-year budget forecast. State statutes guide the town's investment policy. The town does not have any formal
debt management policies nor does it maintain a fund balance policy; however the board of selectman target 5% of expenditures in reserves, and has recently finalized a policy limiting one-time revenue uses solely to capital expenditures."
I think that this review accurately reflects the conservative approach taken by the town in financial matters and ...
... is a credit to the town administration, Finance Committee, and Town Meeting as well as the Select Board.
The rationale for the long term outlook from S&P was given as,
In our opinion, the long-term rating reflects the town's:
· Strong and stable economic base, which is anchored by the presence of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Campus;
· Strong income and wealth indicators, which are particularly significant given the high student population;
· Good financial management and good reserve levels heading into 2010; and
· Low overall debt burden, and rapid debt amortization.
To be able to have such a good report in tough financial times bodes well for our future.
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4 comments:
Good for the town.
Watch out! Here come the vultures with their hands out.
Bill, Thank you for giving credit to all bodies of our Government...including Town meeting of which I am a member of. People dismiss this body to often, but more often than not, I believe we(TM) has made the best descions for the Town...even if it has been in opposition to the FIN COM
In light of the fact that there are those who post here critisizing the true fiscal conservative people who serve voluntarily on our boards and committees, I would like to thank Trmble, Michaud, Friedman, Lynam and Walker for the work they have done to achieve this bond rating. It wouldn't have happened without them.
Now the likes of Stone, Dias, Watson, Jenkins and the entire School Board can all get together and work on convincing everyone that we should use this rating as a means to borrow and spend some more. Maybe they can even get pay raises for everyone. Capital improvements be damned!
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