I am very happy to announce that Sylvania Township received an AA+ bond rating from Standard & Poor's, just one step below the top rating of AAA. We pursued a bond rating in anticipation of a bond sale next year in order to continue our work on the Fire Department's $10 million capital plan as approved by voters in March 2008. This bond rating is directly related to Sylvania Township's solid financial position and strong management practices that have been implemented and is the result of a lot of hard work by the trustees and our administration and staff in putting together a financial foundation that is sound and sustainable.
According to our financial advisor, Steve Szanto, this is the highest bond rating of any government entity in Lucas County and places Sylvania Township in the top 10% state-wide. This bond rating helped us achieve a net interest rate of 0.699% on the sale of $7.9 million Bond Anticipation Note, giving us a net interest cost of only $54,000, several hundred thousand dollars less than we had budgeted.
Standard & Poor's rating is based on seven financial practice areas and the Township was rated 'strong' in each one. As Mr. Szanto recently said "the Trustees realized the importance of prudent financial management tools and adopted formal policies a though the township was a business." The management tools he is referring to includes numerous policies that we have passed in recent months regarding a rainy-day fund, fund balances, and account reserves as well as having five-year budget projections and capital improvement plans. Our general fund balance of $5.6 million was helpful as well, especially since this balance has increased from $675,000 in 2004.
The Standard & Poor's RatingsDirect report can be found here: Standard & Poor's Rating.
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3 comments:
Congratulations to Dave Simko! As Fiscal Officer he bears, in large part, the responsibility for these types of fiscal issues. It is a testament to his leadership and skill that his fiscal policies have resulted in such a quality bond rating!
James - Dave has been involved in many of the changes that we have implemented regarding financial matters at the township, but Dave cannot pass a budget nor can he adopt a policy. He confirms that we have money to pay bills, but bottom line is the trustees are the ones who determine how it is spent, saved, or allocated.
James Halpert -
Can you point out ONE thing in specific Mr. Simko has done to result in our current bond rating? If DeeDee and Pam hadn't been elected 4 years ago, there still would be no responsible leadership. Dave has been FO for what, 6 years now? The fire department was a loss making train wreck, and Dave NEVER suggested the tax holidays that Pam and DeeDee have put in place.
Fact is, Dave Simko has never treated the taxpayers money as their own. He spent it like it was his. And it wasn't.
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