Tucson city government’s credit rating got a boost in the latest review from credit agencies.
The city’s credit rating determines the interest rate it gets when it sells bonds, or, essentially, borrows against future revenue. The notable change in this credit cycle is that Moody’s boosted the rating from negative to stable.
Standard & Poor's and Fitch Group kept the city at a stable outlook.
City spokeswoman Lane Mandle said Moody's decision was based in part on the voter-approved sales tax increase that goes into effect July 1, something all three credit rating agencies noted in their reports.
“The ratings agencies, particularly Moody’s Investor Service, feels that the city is experiencing very strong management, and that the city has done an excellent job to bring costs in line with expenditures,” Mandle said.
The previous negative rating from Moody's was related to rising public safety pension costs and the city’s record of budget cuts year after year, Mandle said.
For the past two years, the city has avoided major budget cuts at the end of the year because it has stabilized its budget.
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