City of Worcester, MA

City Manager Batista Announces Stable Municipal Bond Rating Reports

For Immediate Release: 2/14/2024 11:11 am

WORCESTER, Mass. – City Manager Eric D. Batista announced Wednesday the City of Worcester’s affirmed stable bond rating.

The municipality is rated annually by three independent rating agencies: Moody’s Investor Services, Fitch Ratings, and Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings. All three independent bond rating agencies affirmed the municipality’s stable outlook with Aa3 (stable), AA (stable), AA- (stable) ratings, respectively.

Private sector investors depend on the agencies’ ratings and reports of the City's fiscal health when considering to invest in the City’s bonds. These ratings are an indicator of a community's long-term economic stability, vibrancy, and vitality. Higher ratings mean lower borrowing costs.

Below are comments from the agencies’ reports:

• “The city benefits from strong institutional structure, budget management and demonstrated policy effectiveness through its formal fiscal policies. The city also maintains adequate transparency and disclosure.” – Moody’s Investor Services
  
  
• “Fitch expects that the city will maintain sound reserve levels through future economic cycles relative to its historically stable revenue performance, given a strong level of inherent budget flexibility in the form of solid expenditure flexibility and a high ability to raise revenues.” – Fitch Ratings
  
  
• “…Due to historically positive financial records, conservative budgeting, and continued tax-base growth, we expect that budgetary performance will likely remain strong and that reserves will likely continue to improve.” – Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings

“I am thrilled to share the news of Worcester’s stable bond rating, which is a testament to the city’s continued economic growth, strong management, and fiscal responsibility,” said City Manager Eric D. Batista. “This stable bond rating is the result of the municipality’s commitment to a balanced budget and efficient operations.”

City Manager Batista thanked the city team that prepared and presented the comprehensive information to the rating agency representatives, including Chief Financial Officer Tim McGourthy, City Auditor Robert Stearns, Assistant City Manager Hung Nguyen, Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn, as well as Brianne Susel and Ben Oglesby of UniBank Fiscal Advisory Services.