Judge Doyal: Montgomery County's Hard Work Is Paying Off

From the Office of Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal:

Moody's Investors Service has assigned Montgomery County the highest-possible credit rating, with S&P Global Ratings assigning its next-to-highest rating as the county prepares to issue up to an additional $80 million of the $280 million in bonds authorized by voters in 2015.

The ratings were based in part on the county's "conservative" budget and fiscal practices, according to statements by Moody's. The ratings agency also noted the county's strong economy and positive economic forces that should help the county continue its strong population growth and expansion of its tax base, despite a downturn in the energy sector. Moody's, for example, wrote in its report: "The stable outlook reflects an economy that should remain stable, benefiting from the robust Houston metropolitan area, and favorable financial position that is guided by conservative fiscal practices."

Among the conservative fiscal practices:

• Good fiscal governance by implementing long-range capital planning, such as its recently updated Montgomery County Thoroughfare Plan;
• Strong financial position guided by conservative management practices that has yielded over 10 years of operating surpluses (while cutting the tax rate five times in the past decade)
• Responsible funding of its pension obligations

Moody’s cited the following as some of the county's credit strengths:

• Economic activity contributes to assessed valuation growth; outperforms national peers;
• Year over year solid operating performance; ample reserve levels
• Long-range capital planning; favorable population growth performance
• Significant flexibility under property tax rate

Moody's assigned the county a long-term credit rating of ‘Aaa’; S&P assigned its 'AA+' long-term credit rating to Montgomery County. It means the county's rating is either equal to or superior to ratings for counties comparable in size in the Harris County region, such as Fort Bend, Brazoria and Galveston.

"We are extremely pleased with these ratings; they reflect the hard work we have done in recent years to ensure this county is on a solid financial footing and is being responsible and conservative with taxpayer dollars," said County Judge Craig Doyal.

“Our Commissioners Court, elected officials and department heads have worked hard to manage our debt and spending and implement conservative fiscal practices across the board. While there is yet more work to do, we are pleased to receive this recognition. These ratings will help us ensure the lowest-possible interest rates for the county's debt, keeping our costs low and protecting taxpayers."

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