On the Road to Higher Bond Ratings
County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and Council Chairman Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant) left Tuesday for their annual pilgrimage to Wall Street to talk to investors at the big bond rating agencies about the county's economic health.</br></br>The delegation had meetings with Moody's Investors Service, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor's, the three top firms that offer ratings for government agencies, said Denise Roberts, a county spokeswoman who was also making the trip.</br></br>After a similar trip last year, Fitch Ratings upgraded the county's rating from AA to AA+. After the previous year's presentations, Moody's moved the county up from Aa3 to Aa2. The designations are important because counties with higher ratings can borrow money at lower interest rates. Also, the ratings are made by investors after examining economic prospects, so improved rankings indicate confidence from the penny pushers about the county's health.</br></br>Roberts said the county team is hoping the rating agencies would be similarly impressed this year and upgrade county bonds once again.</br></br>(Other county officials off to New York included Chief Administrative Officer Jacqueline F. Brown, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Finance Iris Boswell, Johnson's Chief of Staff Michael D. Herman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jonathan Seeman and Director of Finance J. Michael Dougherty.)