POUGHKEEPSIE – Mayor Robert Rolison’s 2017 Poughkeepsie City
budget has been rated as “credit positive” by Moody’s
Investor Service.
The city’s bond rating remains Ba1 with a negative outlook.
Moody’s cited the budget’s “action to bring recurring
revenues more in line with recurring expenditures.” Moody’s
also called it a “move towards structural balance” and recognized
that the city has discontinued the practice of postponing its annual required
pension contributions.
Rolison said the city administration is “confident that our proposed
and now adopted budget, while tough, is needed to put the city on firmer
financial footing and to get us started down the right path for the future.”
The budget includes a 16.5 percent property tax increase. The mayor said
the typical response he is getting from residents is that while the tax
hike is steep, it is necessary for the long-term financial stability of
Poughkeepsie.
