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Sweetwater retains AA3 credit rating as finance staff readies year-end report
Summary
Finance staff told commissioners Moody's affirmed an AA3 rating and Standard & Poor's shows a strong rating; staff said year-end financials and a budget compliance note from the state will be presented at the August workshop.
City finance staff updated the Board of Commissioners on municipal finance matters, saying Moody’s completed a re-rating and Sweetwater retained an AA3 investment-grade rating. "Ours is AA 3, which is considered a prime, investment grade rating," staff said during the workshop, adding the rating supports borrowing for the planned community center.
Staff said the city’s Standard & Poor’s rating is also in a strong category (referred to in packet materials as a "plus" by staff). The report cited factors supporting the rating: relatively low long-term debt, rising revenues, an increased fund balance and a reduced net pension liability for city and utility operations.
Finance staff said they expect to have year-end books closed and a full report with year-to-date revenues, expenditures and any fund-balance draws ready for the August workshop. The workshop packet includes Tennessee approval of the June-passed budget with one comment that the city should remain under budget on certain line items; staff said the comment stems from an adjusted journal entry moving interest into the capital-debt fund and that the amount was less than $500.
Officials discussed grant management and said auditors had closed a large police grant (called out as $1,600,000) with no findings; another monitoring for a Main Street ECD grant is scheduled in August. Staff warned that state-level grant monitoring appears to be ramping up and will require stricter record-keeping going forward.
No formal borrowing or budget amendments were approved at the workshop; staff said borrowing needs for the community center will become clearer when bids come in.
