Moody’s Rates Belleville Bonds; Cites ‘Sizable, Growing Tax Base’

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Moody’s Investors Service released its latest bond ratings for Belleville earlier this week.

On Monday, Moody’s noted that it has assigned a MIG 2 rating to the Township of Belleville’s $16.5 million Bond Anticipation Note, Series 2022. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the township's outstanding general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) rating at A3.

According to Moody’s, an “A” rating means that obligations are judged to be “upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.” The financial service also adds a suffix to their rating of “1, 2 or 3;” a 3 indicates that the ranking is in the lower end of the rating category.

Here’s what Moody’s had to say about Belleville this year:

“The A3 reflects the township's sizable and growing tax base in northern New Jersey (A2 stable) and manageable long-term liabilities. The A3 also reflects the township's weak reserve position with a heavy reliance on cash-flow borrowing. The MIG 2 rating reflects the township's satisfactory underlying credit quality, reflected in its A3 GOULT rating, and demonstrated history of market access.”

Moody’s said several factors could lead to an upgrade in their ratings for Belleville:

• Significant increase in reserves generated through ongoing structurally balanced operations
• Reduced reliance on cash flow borrowing
• Decline in long-term liabilities

Moody’s said factors that could lead to a downgrade in their ratings include:

• Any decline in reserves
• Growth of long-term liabilities
• Contraction of local economy
• Downgrade of the long-term rating (short-term)

Last year, Moody’s assigned an A3 rating to Belleville’s $23.7 million General Obligation Bonds, Series 2021, consisting of $21.5 million General Obligation Improvement Bonds and $2.2 million Water Utility Bonds.

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