County Treasurer Scott German told members of the Legislature on Wednesday that he's somewhat surprised that Standard & Poor's has continued Genesee County's slightly downgraded credit rating because of a "weak economy."
He said he disagreed with the assessment.
"For some reason, they say we have a very weak economy here," German said. "I don’t get that."
The county's rating is AA-, which has been the case for awhile now. The minus after AA indicates the county is a slightly worse credit risk than other agencies with an AA rating. The highest rating is AAA.
A credit risk assessment, or bond rating, effects the cost of borrowing money, such as it needs for water projects or is likely to need for a new jail.
The county fares well as a credit risk because of good management, budgetary performance, strong budgetary flexibility, very strong liquidity, and low debt load.
The county's credit risk outlook for new municipal bonds is "stable," according to the report.
It's the "very weak economy" that is dragging the credit rating down, according to the report.
S&P's report says that the buying power of county residents is 83.2 percent of the national level with a per-capita market value $49,542.
"Overall, the county's market value grew by 2.1 percent over the past year to $2.9 billion in 2018," the report states.
The report does note that while income is below state and national averages, the county's unemployment rate is also traditionally lower and that remains true.
The county's tax base has increased modestly and consistently over the past five years.
There is unrealized hope for growth through the county's economic development efforts, the report states, particularly with STAMP -- Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park -- the 1,250-acre nano-tech business park under development in Alabama.
"However, given its early stages of development, it remains to be seen if these industries will relocate to the county," the report states. "One company recently changed its decision to move to the park."
The report also takes note of the $10 million allocated by the state for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the expansion of the HP Hood facility in the Genesee Agri-Business Park as positive signs for the future.
"Given the modest amount of development still ongoing, we do not expect the tax base to experience any negative pressure in the near term," the report states.
