S&P Raises Camden County Bond Rating to Highest Ever

Camden County's bond rating hit its highest-ever mark this week, after Standard & Poor's upgraded the county's general obligation bonds to AA, the third-highest possible rating, in a revision released Tuesday.

Standard & Poor's officials cited the county's improved financial performance of late as part of the reasoning in upgrading the bond rating up from AA-, saying the government had displayed “strong budgetary performance.”

"We believe the county will likely maintain its economic growth and sizable property tax base, as well as management's conservative budgeting practices,” said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Timothy Barrett in a statement. “In our opinion, management will likely continue to benefit from suburban growth and property tax base appreciation, mitigating stagnant trends.”

The county freeholders called it a major win for both government and taxpayers.

“This upgrade is remarkable and extraordinary, especially in the shadow of the national economic malaise,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr., “and can be traced to the county’s fiscal restraint and businesslike approach in cutting the cost of government.”

Standard & Poor’s noted the upgrade also comes amid continued economic expansion and the county's access to major employment centers in and around the Philadelphia region, and lauded the county for a better-than-average record of paying off debt, with 73 percent of the principal on current debt being retired over the next decade.

Cutting costs while preserving services for the more than half-million county residents has been key in strengthening the county's financial position, freeholder Deputy Director Ed McDonnell said.

“Contributing to the good financial performance cited by S&P is the fact that we have brought costs under control by reducing personnel more than 32 percent since 2004 and made common sense enhancements to our overall operations,” McDonnell said. “This new rating is recognition that Camden County is being well-managed as it works through a difficult economic environment.

“We are making tough, smart choices with our workforce, sound spending decisions and continuing to provide essential services to our residents."

The improved rating allows county government to finance capital projects at a lower interest rate—everything from bridge replacements to road repairs to improvements to county-owned buildings.

The rating upgrade applies to all debt guaranteed by Camden County, including debt of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority and the Camden County Improvement Authority.