Village of Rockville Centre Scores AAA Rating

       The Village of Rockville Centre Standard & Poor's Rating was raised from AA+ to AAA, the highest possible rating. According to S&P's five-page report, the upgrade is based on the Village's ability to consistently maintain balanced operations and strong liquidity during the recent recession. In addition, another rating service, Moody's, affirmed the Village's rating to AA2, which is one of its highest ratings.
       "I am extremely proud of the S&P upgrade to a AAA rating," commented Mayor Francis X. Murray. "My administration has worked diligently to bring about fiscal discipline to the operation of our Village while not impacting services. As S&P noted, this proved to be extremely challenging during the downturn in the economy, but the Village was able to maintain balanced operations and strong liquidity. Much of this can be attributed to the professional team we have in place in Rockville Centre, including Comptroller Michael Schussheim and Village Administrator Keith Spadaro."
       The S&P report went on to say that the rating reflects its assessment on multiple factors for the Village including: strong budgetary performance, which takes into account a relatively stable revenue stream; very strong liquidity providing very strong cash levels to cover both debt service and expenditures; strong
management with standard financial policies and a consistent ability to maintain balanced budgets; very strong budgetary flexibility, with 2014 audited available reserves at 10.7% of general fund expenditures and rising; and strong debt and contingent liabilities position, reflecting a manageable debt burden.
       "This upgrade resulted in the Village securing an extremely low net interest charge of 2.26% on its recent $14,460,000 bond issue," continued Mayor Murray. "The low net interest charge will help control Village real estate taxes and utility user rate increases over the next 15 years."