Coral Springs’ AAA-Stable Credit Rating Affirmed for Second Time in Less than a Month

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Nov. 28 -- The city of Coral Springs issued the following news release:

Wall Street credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has once again affirmed Coral Springs' AAA credit rating with a stable outlook for the City's General Obligation Bonds. The AAA rating is the highest bond rating an organization can earn. According to Fitch, "Financial operations and reserves remain strong despite continuing economic pressures due to management's conservative revenue forecasting and tight expenditure controls."

Fitch praised Coral Springs for its overall low debt levels, sound financial operations, and for continuing to adhere to conservative debt and financial policies.

The Fitch AAA rating comes less than one month after Standard and Poor's affirmed its own AAA-Stable rating for Coral Springs. S&P attributes Coral Springs "consistently strong financial performance and management with a demonstrated capacity to adjust operating revenue and expenditures to maintain a structurally balanced operation" as a key driver in the rating affirmation.

Coral Springs has also maintained its AAA-stable rating with Moody's, the other major Wall Street rating agency making Coral Springs one of only a handful of cities nationwide to have earned the AAA rating from all three rating agencies.

Much like an individual's credit rating, a bond rating is a measure of an organization's credit worthiness. AAA bond ratings are often referred to as the 'Prime' rating because it symbolizes the highest quality investment with the smallest degree of risk. As a AAA rated city, the City of Coral Springs has saved, and will continue to save, millions of dollars in interest and credit enhancements such as bond insurance.

"It is encouraging to see that Wall Street appreciates the City Commission's commitment to long-range planning and their willingness to make difficult decisions that are in the best interest of our residents," City Manager Erdal Donmez said. "This achievement was a collective effort," Donmez added, "that would not have been possible without the diligent effort of all our employees pitching in and working together during these very difficult economic times."

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