Just last week, Moody’s, the credit-rating agency, assigned a rating of Aaa to Wilton for a planned issue of $22.8 million in general obligation bonds and called the town’s outlook “stable.” Aaa, or “triple-A” is the highest rating issued by the agency. The expected sale date for the bonds is March 10.
In addition, Moody’s reaffirmed the town’s existing Aaa rating on the debt Wilton currently has, and noted that the rating will apply to the total $74.5 million debt Wilton will hold after the current bonds are sold.
According to the release, Moody’s reported that the triple-A rating “reflects the town’s sizable and affluent tax base, stable financial position with healthy reserves, and manageable debt burden.” It also noted that the town’s financial position will continue to remain sound, based on “strong management, conservative budgeting practices, and adherence to formal policies.”
Reacting to the news, first selectman Bill Brennan said he was very pleased.
“The Town’s financial position is very strong and is able to comfortably support debt burden projections due to the Town’s conservative financial management policies. As an example, Wilton’s Employees Retirement plan is 92-percent funded, due to annual funding contributions that contribute more than the annual required contributions. Low current unemployment at 3.9%, historically strong tax collection levels, healthy reserves and an affluent and sizable tax base, all contributed,” he wrote in an email to GOOD Morning Wilton.
Warren Serrenbetz, the chair of Wilton’s Board of Finance, agreed.
“I think the Moody’s Aaa rating reflects the solid fiscal management of the town. There are several things they are very impressed with. One is our healthy unassigned fund balance. Another is our policy to over fund the actuarial required pension contribution. Another is the fact that we meet or beat our budgets. Last but not least our CFO puts together a presentation that answers many of Moody’s questions ahead of time,” he said.
