On December 11, County Manager Harry Jones, Finance Director Dena Diorio and other Finance staff will travel to New York City for the annual bond rating meeting.

The County team will meet with representatives from Moody’s Investor’s Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings. The presentation will include an overview of County finances, an update on the County’s revised financial policies including fund balance and debt management, an overview of the FY2013 adopted budget, a snapshot of local economic conditions and a review of the proposed transactions.

In addition to issuing new General Obligation bonds totaling $100 million, the County is planning a refunding issue (refinancing) totaling approximately $206 million, two mode conversions totaling approximately $168.6 million and the taxable refunding of the Bryton Certificates of Participation (COPs) financing instruments totaling approximately $15 million. An overview of the transactions will be presented to the Board at its December 18, 2012 meeting.

The County expects a positive result and the affirmation of the County’s AAA bond rating. Maintaining the County’s bond rating is one of the Board’s balanced scorecard goals, because it makes the County’s bonds an attractive investment and thereby enables the County to borrow at the least expensive interest rate the market will generate for the sale.