DeKalb water and sewer bonds get "A+"

A credit rating agency has given DeKalb County government's recent water and sewer revenue bonds a strong, though not perfect, grade.

Standard & Poor’s Financial Services notified DeKalb officials that it was giving a long-term "A+" to the county's 2011A series bonds. The agency gave the county's other water and sewer revenue bonds a "AA-."

An "A" indicates a "strong" ability to meet debts but susceptibility to adversity and change. S&P attributed "solid operations" to the new ratings, but county CEO Burrell Ellis said the grades also recognized cost-cutting.