DesotoExplorer.com / City of De Soto aces bond rating review

Archive for Thursday, April 3, 2008

April 3, 2008

The city of De Soto's bond rating is making the grade.

De Soto City Administrator Pat Guilfoyle said he was notified last week the credit rating firm Standard & Poor's had upgraded the city's bond rating from BBB to A.

The city is in the process of selling bonds to finance capital improvement plan projects. As part of the process, Standard & Poor's conducted a review of the city's bond rating.

Guilfoyle said he went into rating process hoping to maintain the BBB rating the city received last year.

"We bypassed BBB+ and A- and went straight to A," he said. "It's good to get a good rating because that's what bond buyers want to see."

The city's financial advisor, Kelsey Powell of Columbia Capital, told Guilfoyle such a jump was rare for municipalities.

The bottom line for taxpayers is the upgraded rating should mean better rates and less interest owed on bonds, Guilfoyle said. It also reflects a positive view of the city, he said.

"Such a jump in our bond rating reflects highly on the community, something that we can speak proudly about in terms of our financial improvements and the message it delivers to the public and the investment world," he said.