Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer has announced that the Town of Babylon’s finances have received one of the highest marks on Long Island from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s rating services, having been assigned bond ratings of AA+ and Aa2, respectively. In earning these ratings, the agencies cited the Town of Babylon’s strong financial management, good financial policies and diverse tax base. As a result of receiving these high bond ratings, the Town has received a super-low interest rate of 2.5% on its bonds, down from 3% the year before. These low interest rates translate into a savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds over the life of the loan.
While other municipalities in New York and on Long Island are having their ratings downgraded, the high ratings are a reaffirmation of the Town of Babylon’s sound fiscal policies and responsible budgeting. Having overcome recent struggles with increased pension costs and depreciated property values, the Town is now on track to finish the 2014 Fiscal Year in excellent standing. Additionally, the Town has continued to retire more debt than it has taken on, as it has for the past decade. According to S&P, for the fiscal year “the better-than-expected results came from conservative revenue estimates and continued cost-containment measures.”
“Once again the Town of Babylon’s policies have received high praise from both S&P and Moody’s, growing our reputation as one of the most fiscally sound townships in the region,” said Supervisor Schaffer. “I am proud to serve on a Town Board that continues to address our financial issues head on and solve them with solutions that make the most sense for our current, as well as future, taxpayers. Through responsible budgeting and aggressive debt retirement, we have put the Town on solid economic footing.”
The rating of AA+ is the second-highest presented by Standard & Poor’s while Aa2 is Moody’s’ third-highest.