S&P Global Ratings Affirmed The County’s AA Rating And Listed Its Outlook As Stable

Kingston, N.Y. – Ulster County Executive Mike Hein is pleased to announce that S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Ulster County’s AA bond rating.  According to S&P Global Ratings, the AA bond rating is due to the County’s “strong management,” “strong budgetary performance,” “strong budgetary flexibility” and “very strong liquidity.”

“We are pleased that S&P Global Ratings has acknowledged the strong financial management of the Hein Administration to protect taxpayers, invest in infrastructure and reinvent government,” said Commissioner of Finance Burt Gulnick.  “With that being said, we have turned our full attention to the 2018 budget that we expect may present additional challenges, especially with potential changes to the Affordable Care Act in Washington and the effect on healthcare and Medicaid costs.”

A strong bond rating is beneficial to taxpayers by reducing the overall borrowing costs associated with standard bond issues.   S&P Global Ratings has assigned a bond rating of AA to Ulster County’s previous issued bonds which is an affirmation of the previous AA rating.  S&P Global Ratings long-term credit ratings range from a top rating of ‘AAA’ to ‘D’ for debt issues that are actually in default and for issuers who did not meet their financial obligations.  Currently, Fitch Ratings lists Ulster County’s bond rating as AA-, one of the highest ratings Fitch Ratings offers.