Moody's Upgrades Town of Huntington’s Outlook to ‘Stable’

The Town of Huntington has once again received an AAA bond rating, the highest rating for Town bonds, from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s.

Moody's upheld the AAA rating and upgraded the Town’s outlook to “stable.” The rating covers the Town’s existing $109 million in outstanding debt and the planned $13.925 million in borrowing planned for later this week.

Out of the $109 million outstanding debt, $84 million is from Town borrowing and $25 million is debt from the Town water districts. The debt from the water districts will be repaid by district residents only, the Town says. The planned borrowing includes $12.4 million for Town projects and $1.5 million for the Greenlawn Water District.

According to Moody’s, the rating “reflects the Town’s currently satisfactory reserve position and improving financial obligations, its sizable wealthy tax base and low debt burden,” and the stable outlook “reflects our expectation of continued sound financial operations and modest growth and overall stability in the local economy.”

In reaffirming the rating, Standard & Poor’s cited the Town’s “strong management, with good financial policies and practices,” as well as “adequate budgetary performance, strong budgetary flexibility, very strong liquidity and strong debt and contingent liability position.”

“These ratings will ensure that Huntington continues to save on borrowing costs, benefitting all Town taxpayers,” Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said in a press release.