York County’s ‘sound financial practices’ will save money for taxpayers

Finance director Kevin Madden says “sound financial practices” from County Council and county staff has helped York County receive an upgraded credit rating from The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services.

S&P raised York County’s water and sewer system revenue refunding debt rating to ‘AA+’ from ‘AA.’ By earning a better rating, the county is able to save the taxpayers money, Madden said. This will reduce the amount of money taxpayers pay when the money is borrowed.

Effectively, this means the county will be able to borrow more money for projects with a better interest rate, according to Madden. In S&P’s outlook, the rating agency says the county has strong debt service coverage for the county’s water and sewer fund.

Madden said the county is considering borrowing a significant amount of money in about 18 months to make water and sewer system improvements.

“The County’s solid financial position is a direct result of the financial discipline of County Council, the County Manager, the previous Finance Director, and staff,” Madden said. “The County is dedicated to making sure all financial decisions continue to consider what is in the taxpayers’ best interest.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 1:59 PM with the headline "York County’s ‘sound financial practices’ will save money for taxpayers."