Gwinnett County received some good financial news this week. Just days before issuing about $270 million in new revenue bonds for water and sewer improvements, the county learned it will get the low-interest benefits of AAA ratings thanks to new credit assessments. The County’s overall credit rating remained AAA with a stable outlook as reported by Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s Investor Services and Fitch Ratings this week.
Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the ratings have a significant positive impact on the cost of borrowing money for needed improvements.
The money will pay to finish construction on two projects already underway including upgrades to the Yellow River wastewater treatment plant off Tom Smith Road and a nine-mile pipeline to carry treated wastewater back to its source in Lake Lanier from the F. Wayne Hill plant near the Mall of Georgia. It will also fund improvements to the Crooked Creek Water Reclamation plant near the Chattahoochee River and Holcomb Bridge Road.
The Standard and Poor’s report said, “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the county’s good financial practices coupled with expenditure reductions and revenue raising strategies should continue to support strong finances despite a contracting local economy.”
Gwinnett County first achieved AAA ratings in 1997 and that status has been reaffirmed by the three major ratings agencies every year since.
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