S&P holds credit-review call with Carter County; pipelines dominate taxable base

Standard & Poor’s staff held a follow-up credit review call with Carter County officials during the Jan. 13 meeting to clarify recent revenue volatility and current fiscal standing.

S&P asked about an observed drop in property-tax revenues in 2021 and a rebound in 2022. Commissioners explained that a natural-gas pipeline discontinued flow in 2021, reducing assessed value and county tax receipts; a later oil pipeline (discussed as the Elk Creek pipeline) boosted values when it came online. County officials said pipeline valuation and throughput (including product price and volume) materially influence the county’s taxable value.

Treasurer Jesse Pearson joined the meeting and described how certain mining/production revenues (bentonite) are collected and prorated to levied funds; he confirmed those receipts are remitted to the county and prorated across levies. S&P requested unaudited FY24 actuals and the FY25 budget; county staff said they would provide the documents and supplemental information, including a list of the top taxpayers and methodology notes on pipeline valuation.

S&P also summarized a recent change in rating criteria that treats small population and low nominal fund balances (S&P cited less than $2 million) as factors in scoring. S&P staff said any rating change would reflect those criteria updates rather than a deterioration of county finances and noted that Carter County’s economy remains favorable because of its high pipeline-related tax base. County staff estimated pipelines accounted for about 93.2% of the tax base on the spreadsheet they discussed.

S&P indicated it expected to complete its review the following week and will follow up with document requests and coordination. County staff agreed to send unaudited actuals, the FY25 budget and top‑taxpayer information for the rating review.