What Is Net Debt and How Does It Affect Collingswood's Financial Picture?

Patch asked longtime borough auditor Nick Petroni to explain as Collingswood commissioner candidates fiercely debate the issue.

One of the most contentious issues surrounding the 2013 borough commissioners election has been discussion of Collingswood's net debt. The question was posed of candidates at a forum hosted by area media groups April 30, and has been described as a metric of the financial health of the borough during campaign season. But for those voters who may not have the depth of financial knowledge that the candidates do, Patch posed that question of someone who is intimately familiar with both the concept of net debt and the specific dollar figures at work in the local ledger. Gross debt vs. net debt Nick L. Petroni, CPA, RMA, PSA, of Petroni and Associates, has been auditing Collingswood’s books since the late 1980s. His firm also provides this …

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Matt Skoufalos

1:54 am on Saturday, May 11, 2013

Well, would you believe the state of New Jersey, because I linked to it above: 40A:2-44. Deductions from gross debts (i.e., things that get you to that net debt number) http://law.onecle.com/new-jersey/40a-municipalities-and-counties/2-44.html "40A:2-44. There shall be deducted from the gross debt of the local unit, to the extent included therein, the amount of bonds or notes issued and …   more ›

Moody's Upgrades Collingswood Credit to Baa3, Ingerman Deal Awaits

The rating is 10 on the investor service scale of 21. With that position secured, Mayor James Maley says, the borough will close its deal with Ingerman builders Monday.

Moody's Investor Service has restored Collingswood bond ratings to investment-grade status, the borough reports, a move that will help with the next phase of the LumberYard construction project. Although an official announcement from Moody's was unavailable at press time, Kyle Fitzpatrick, a client service representative for the agency, confirmed that the ratings upgrade would be published to the company website by the end of the day. "I’m happy that they did it, but it’s important to note that we haven’t changed one thing from what we announced we were doing last August, when this happened," Collingswood Mayor James Maley told Patch. "All we did was follow through on our plan, and in that time period, Moody’s changed their conclusion," he…

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Maley Offers LumberYard Recap in Video Blog

As financial paperwork was finalized last week, Mayor James Maley recorded a brief video message outlining the ups and downs of the project.

Last week, as the borough put the finishing touches on a number of details involved in the completion of the LumberYard project—including closing out its financing and securing a builder for the remainder of the site—Collingswood Mayor James Maley offered a video recap of the project timeline. In an effort to showcase the potential of the downtown residential project, Maley delivered his remarks from the finished condo of Tom and Pat Kelly, a couple whose story has circulated in media coverage of the LumberYard. To start, Maley reminded viewers that the LumberYard project began with a planning grant and public input process, and emphasized that the biggest obstacle to the project has been the housing recession that scuttled its original …

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Cwood Resident

1:26 am on Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I'm sure they're going to charge market rate rent but that doesn't mean they'll build those projects to a standard above they've done in the past. From the projects I've been involved with I'm scared to see how this is going to turn out, not immediately but in the coming years.   more ›

Maley on Moody's

"Greece has a better rating than we do." Collingswood's mayor dishes about what the credit agency got wrong in its assessment of the LumberYard financing.

As a community, Collingswood “has been lucky enough over the past 10 years to be getting all kinds of nice press,” says Mayor James Maley. “A few years ago, the American Planning Association named Haddon Avenue one of the great places in America, the only place they’ve given that designation to in New Jersey,” he says. “The New York Times has written that we’ve done great public partnerships.” Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal praised the LumberYard project as the kind of transit-oriented development that “is now one of the fastest-growing areas of the housing market…as developers regroup after the housing and financial crises.” Yet one voice rises consistently in opposition, Maley says. “There’s only one incorrect message, and …

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Anne Carroll

7:28 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012

Agreed, Joanna.   more ›

Collingswood Still at Junk Status, but Moody's Delivers Some Good News

Moody's ups the outlook for the borough credit rating, but Collingswood isn't out of the woods yet.

Collinsgwood received a glimmer of hope from Moody’s this week on the borough’s bond credit rating. While the agency maintained Collingswood’s Ba1 (junk status) rating, Moody’s also upgraded its appraisal of the outlook for the borough to "uncertain"—a moderate step up from its prior "negative" rating. Bad credit ratings usually make it more difficult and more expensive to borrow money.  Moody’s hit Collingswood with a massive rating downgrade in September 2011 and maintained that rating after a review in November despite protests from borough officials. The Moody’s rating is chiefly concerned with $28 million in outstanding long-term, general obligation debt. The service upgraded Collingswood after it inked a settlement agreement to …

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Borough to Proceed with $4.5M LumberYard Refinancing

Collingswood is still on the hook for nearly $5 million in loans, but will retain ownership of 13 unsold condos while getting a chance to salvage its credit rating under terms of the deal.

The borough will move forward with a refinancing settlement to secure its ownership of 13 unsold units at the LumberYard Condominums site while repaying nearly $5 million in outstanding construction loans. Borough commissioners on Monday authorized Mayor James Maley to sign off on an agreement with TCIC, a subsidiary of the New Jersey Bankers Association, that would repay $4.5 million—half the $8.5 million remaining on the $18 million original loan to Lumberyard Redevelopment, LLC. Collingswood intends to raise the money through the sale of municipal bonds. Maley pointed out that although Collingswood is not a partner in the limited-liability company that funded the project, it is still a guarantor on the loan note. Without establishing …

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Camden County in Danger of Credit Downgrade

Credit-rating agency Moody's warned Camden County it could face a bond rating downgrade for $734.9 million in county-backed debt.

Moody's Says No to Re-Rating Borough

After Moody’s reviewed Collingswood’s concerns about a 6-point credit rating drop issued in September, the investor’s service chose not to re-rate the borough.

The report Collingswood issued to Moody’s Investor’s Service—to refute a 6-point drop in Collingswood’s credit rating issued in September—failed to persuade. On Monday, the investor’s service issued a follow-up report and detailed their decision not to re-rate the borough, despite Collingswood’s claims. “Moody’s Investors Service has maintained Collingswood Borough’s Ba1 GO rating and its status as under review for possible downgrade,” Moody’s said. “The action affects approximately $28 million in outstanding rated debt, secured by the borough’s general obligation unlimited tax pledge. The rating was downgraded to Ba1 from A1, and placed under review for possible downgrade on September 12, 2011.” Borough debt, cited Moody’s, was generated …

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Mayor: Moody's Update Coming, Re-Rating Unlikely For Now

Mayor James Maley spoke about the borough's bond rating during Monday's commission meeting.

Credit rating firm Moody's is drawing closer to a self-imposed 90-day deadline to consider a review Collingswood's bond rating, following a sharp downgrade earlier this year that angered town leaders.  Collingswood Mayor James Maley discussed updates Monday evening regarding the borough's bond rating and its attempt to raise a six-point credit downgrade issued by Moody's. After the Moody's decision, Collingswood issued the agency a report in an effort to having the rating reevaluated.  "Moody's gave themselves 90 days to review that report," said Maley Monday night. "We've also met with them for what was a productive meeting. "I'm expecting something is coming out from (Moody's) in the next day or so. I don't expect that they'll re-rate us…

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