Monmouth gets high bond rating

The nation's three major bond-rating agencies, Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, recently announced that Monmouth County will be retaining its triple-A status.

Only a small percentage of counties throughout the United States have been granted AAA ratings, the highest rating, according to Mark E. Acker, Monmouth County's finance director. In fact, Monmouth County is the only county in New Jersey and one of only 22 counties in the country that can claim to have received the highest score from all three rating agencies.

The triple-A ratings reflect Monmouth County's sound financial management, stable growth and low debt burden, according to the bond-rating agencies. As a result, each agency also awarded the county a favorable stable future outlook.

"This is the ninth year in a row Monmouth County has been awarded a triple-A rating by these agencies," Freeholder Director William C. Barham said. "I commend Mark Acker for the way he has handled the county's finances, because the triple-A rating means the county is doing an excellent job managing its resources and planning for the future."

According to Moody's Investors Service, the AAA rating is a reflection of the county's strong local economy, active residential and commercial retail development, substantial and rapidly growing tax base, wealth and income levels that exceed the state and national levels, regular operating surpluses and high current fund balances and manageable overall debt.

"The AAA rating with a stable outlook incorporates the county's sound financial operations and healthy reserves, substantial tax base with continued healthy growth and modest debt position," Moody's reported in the county's credit profile. "Moody's expects strong financial operations to continue, resulting from conservative budgetary assumptions for revenues and good control of expenditures."

"I am extremely pleased that Monmouth County was recognized once again for its continued demonstration of sound, fiscal management," said Freeholder Barbara J. McMorrow, liaison to the Finance Department. "Because the county has been careful in its spending and continues to maintain low debt levels we are able to enjoy greater flexibility in providing quality services to our residents."

McMorrow also said the Budget Review Committee, which met earlier this year and issued a report on the county's finances, had noted that since 1990 the county has enjoyed an overall debt service rate of less than 4.5 percent.

In preparing the 2007 budget, the county's Board of Freeholders again focused on minimizing the tax levy, according to a press release from the county's Department of Public Information. As a result, the freeholders adopted a budget that contains a 2.9 percent tax increase. The increase was below the rate of inflation and did not impact county services.

Fitch commented on the county's solid financial management resulting in continued strong operations, financial flexibility and low debt levels.

"The county's financial position is strong," Fitch said. "The county continues to experience positive employment growth and unemployment levels are well below state averages. Fund balances continued to grow in 2006 due to the county's conservative budget practices, expenditure controls and healthy flow of revenue driven by an expanding property tax base."

"It's always gratifying when the rating agencies affirm our triple-A ratings because these essentially are our financial report cards," Acker said. "We passed with the highest grade possible."

Standard & Poor's announced its triple-A designation for Monmouth County, but the report was not immediately available.

Moody's and Fitch also anticipate that the eventual closing of Fort Monmouth, Eatontown, will not have any long-term negative impact on the county's economy. They note that the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority, of which Freeholder Lillian G. Burry is a member, is exploring redevelopment options. They also said the county is economically deeply diverse, providing opportunities for the highly skilled displaced employees.