S&P Rating Release
CASTLE HILLS, Texas – Standard &
Poor’s Ratings Services has issued the City of Castle Hills a “AA” for its
introductory rating. The City of Castle Hills will be issuing debt in order to
address long-term infrastructure projects related to streets and drainage. Based on the current Street and Drainage needs
within the City of Castle Hill’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) infrastructure
needs are close to $42 million.
The
rating agency’s thorough evaluation and due diligence process that resulted in
the "AA" rating for the City of Castle Hills included the following
primary factors:
·
Very strong economy,
·
Very strong budgetary flexibility,
·
Adequate budgetary performance,
·
Very strong liquidity,
·
Strong management conditions,
·
Weak debt and contingent liabilities with a
healthy fund balance, and
·
Strong Institutional Framework.
“I
am incredibly proud of the City staff and Council for their thoughtful and
levelheaded leadership that has produced sound fiscal policies and strong
framework; which have earned us this initial rating by S&P” said Castle
Hills Mayor JR Trevino. “The issuance of debt is a critical decision for any
City Council and we have given this decision a lot of careful thought. Our
utilization of the Capital Improvement Plan will provide us a structured
approach to move forward with this community investment addressing longstanding
street and drainage issues. I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge City Manager,
Ryan Rapelye, for his steadfast leadership over the last 2 years in preparing
us for this moment”
The debt being issued is to allow the
city to address nearly $3.3
Million for streets. This involves reconstruction work of many streets as
outlined in the City’s CIP and $5 Million in drainage improvements in various
watersheds located in Castle Hills. The street reconstruction projects selected
are the highest priority within the City’s Street CIP. The AA: “Double A.” rating indicates a very
strong creditworthiness and will be beneficial in obtaining a lower interest
rate for the debt issuance. A rating of “AA” is two notches below the highest
investment grade rating available of “AAA”.
“We are very pleased and proud that S&P
has provided this rating, this is the City of Castle Hills’s first bond
rating,” said City Manager Ryan Rapelye. “The combination of the strong local economy,
sound financial policies, and Council’s leadership have resulted in this bond
rating as we move forward to address long-term infrastructure needs in Castle
Hills.”
For questions
related to this bond rating or any future capital improvement projects, please
contact Ryan Rapelye, City Manager, by email at rrapelye@castlehills-tx.gov or by
calling at (210) 293-9673.