Bond Rating Continues to Improve

Prince George's officials have reported success from their visit to the bond rating agencies on Wall Street.

On Thursday, County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) announced that Moody's Investors Service upgraded the county's bond rating from Aa2 to Aa1, the second boost the county has received from Moody's in three years. It is the fourth year in a row that one of the agencies -- the other two are Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's -- has boosted the county's rating. County officials claim it's the first time any jurisdiction has seen four consecutive improvements.

The designations are important because counties with higher ratings can borrow money at lower interest rates. Also, the ratings are made by investors after examining economic prospects, so improved rankings indicate confidence about the county's health.

The ranking means the county now has Moody's second-best rating for a government jurisdiction. In granting the improvement, the company's analysts cited Prince George's "strong growth in new office, industrial, and retail investment." They particularly praised the $2 billion National Harbor project, as well as the completion of 350,000 square feet of office space and 222,000 square feet of industrial space in 2006.

"The county's economy remains very strong with increasing income levels and a growing tax base. We expect to continue this economic growth as we continue to expand our commercial and residential tax base," Johnson said.

Revisionist Politics

If at first you don't succeed . . .

It's an old saying that may have been at work last week when County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) sent a revised letter to the County Council to ask for approval of his proposal to raise the county phone tax by 3 percent.

Johnson called his proposal "the preferred method for funding the school system's budget." He said the tax would provide "a reliable source of ongoing revenue with which to fund major programmatic improvements" for schools. And he said a council idea to possibly use school surplus funds could create an imbalance in future years once the surplus is gone.

But these haven't been Johnson's only words on the topic. A day earlier, his staff unveiled a draft of the same letter to the council during a committee meeting. In that version, Johnson was far more blunt.

He called the tax the "responsible path" for school funding and said it would "not be sound fiscal practice" to use the school surplus in place of the tax.

"In light of our successes in improving the financial position of the county, it would be unwise and unfortunate if the Council were to substitute a temporary fix for a viable ongoing revenue source that can pay for school improvements on a permanent basis," he wrote in the first draft.

Reports from the committee meeting indicate council members were not pleased by the letter, particularly its implications that they were putting school system funding at risk. In strong terms, they urged revisions. Apparently, they got them.