Wall Street delivers a credit-rating boost to L.A. County finances
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors got a holiday present this week from an occasionally Scrooge-like institution on Wall Street.
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Thursday raised the county’s long-term credit rating from AA to AA+, its highest rating so far.
S&P said the county had “very strong budget flexibility,” with general fund reserves equal to more than 15% of expenditures, enough cash to cover debt service and the cost of providing services and “very strong management with strong financial policies.”
Weighing against that, it noted, are high unemployment levels and large obligations for pensions and retiree benefits.
S&P said it expected the county’s rating to remain stable over the next two years, although it noted that the performance of the county’s hospital and medical center operations could either boost or hurt the credit rating during that time.
The rating uptick, the county’s second in a little more than a year, means it will be in a position to secure lower interest rates on financing for capital projects.
“In some cities, they can’t even fill the potholes and pave the streets,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Knabe said in a statement. “At the county, we continue to invest in our infrastructure, knowing that investments today will benefit our neighborhoods for decades to come.”
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