NEW CITY – For the first time in a decade, Rockland County’s bond rating has risen to the “A” category, and County Executive Edwin Day said that demonstrates “a clear sign that fiscal policies [he] put into place are paying off for taxpayers.”
The “A-“ rating by Fitch is the county’s fifth consecutive bond upgrade since 2014, when the county’s bands were rated just above junk and the county had a $138 million deficit.
“This is a development that matters to every person who pays taxes in Rockland County,” Day said. “It means that we can borrow money as we do regularly to fund capital projects at a lower cost.”
For a $30 million new issue 20-year-bond, the difference between an “A” rating and a “B” rating is between $350,000 and $500,000, according to Finance Commissioner Stephen DeGroat.
The county has saved between $3 million and $5 million in debt service since 2014.
