HAUPPAUGE, NY—Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine today announced S&P Global Ratings upgraded its long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Suffolk County’s general obligation (GO) bonds outstanding to 'AA-' from 'A+’ with a stable outlook.
“This is great news and the first of what we hope to be several upgrades as we work to make Suffolk a safer and more affordable place to live,” said Romaine. “We will continue to work with our colleagues in the Suffolk Legislature and the Suffolk County Comptroller to streamline government and improve services while continuing this forward momentum.”
“The upgrade reflects ongoing improvement to the county's financial position. Despite economic headwinds to the county's financial profile, Suffolk County is in a much stronger financial position to maintain higher reserves and structural balance,” said S&P. “The combination of stronger financial management and financial performance, the historic level of reserves and budgetary flexibility, a sizable affluent economy that is more resilient than in years past, and a manageable debt burden are factors that align with a high-investment-grade rating.”
“This latest credit upgrade for Suffolk County highlights the conservative budgeting practices of the Republican majority over the last two years,” said Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey. “Through conservative budgeting and making prudent use of one-time federal ARPA funds has put Suffolk County on a firm financial footing for the first time in 15 years. The SC Legislature will continue to work with County Executive Romaine to insure the long-term financial future of Suffolk County.”
Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg said: "Over the past 2 years the legislature has made a concerted effort to help strengthen the county's financial stability, and today's announcement is a big step in the right direction. I look forward to continuing our bipartisan push to keep on the fiscally sustainable path we've laid."
“The rating further reflects our opinion of the county's robust local economy, characterized by very strong per capita taxable market values, very high residential incomes, and new developments supporting economic growth prospects,” said S&P. “Better budget policies and practices that have reduced reliance on revenue growth and onetime measures to balance budgets, and ample budgetary flexibility to provide officials headroom to make timely revenue and expenditure adjustments when economically sensitive revenues underperform.”
“We will continue to be fiscally conservative and build more efficiency into Suffolk County government,” said Romaine. “The taxpayers put their faith in us to budget wisely and protect their dollars. That is what we are doing.”