Prince George’s County has received a AAA bond rating from all three of the major Wall Street ratings agencies for the first time.
Analysts with Fitch Ratings announced May 27 that they had upgraded their rating on the county from AA+ to AAA, the highest rating possible. Ratings are the government equivalent of a personal credit score and indicate to investors the economic strength of a company, fund or municipality.
For Prince George’s, the top rating means the county can borrow money through bond sales at a lower interest rate, a move that could save the county millions on the cost of building new schools or other major expenses.
“With this news, we must properly market and communicate to the business community that Prince George’s County is a great investment to create more jobs and opportunities for our residents,” County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) said in a statement.
The Fitch upgrade marks the pinnacle of nine years of steady improvement for the county, which frequently was listed as a riskier investment because of its troubles with crime, low-performing schools and a resident-imposed cap on tax increases known as TRIM.
Under former county executive Jack B. Johnson, the county agreed to increase the amount it holds in reserve on its $2.6 billion budget from 5 percent to 7 percent to satisfy investors, who then began lifting their ratings each year.
In 2008, Standard and Poor’s gave the county its first AAA rating, which Johnson celebrated with signs, a marching band and a celebration at the county administration building in Upper Marlboro. The event was soured weeks later when the county furloughed workers to accommodate a massive drop in revenue.
Officials with the Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the county to AAA in August.
The latest upgrade from Fitch marks a turnaround for the county. The agency had listed Prince George’s future outlook as “negative” in its last assessment in 2009, citing continued pressures from county labor unions about furloughs and major shortfalls in the county budget that required millions in cuts to balance.
In their latest report, analysts said the outlook now is “stable,” adding that county finances are slowly recovering under “prudent fiscal management.”
The latest upgrade comes after Baker visited with investors after taking office in December.
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