Strong reserve levels and financial management cited in rating
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The City of Naperville is proud to announce that it has once again been awarded the highest bond rating available on the City’s General Obligation bonds by both Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service.
Naperville is proud to have received the ‘AAA’ rating from S&P and ‘Aaa’ rating from Moody’s for over two decades. Both ratings are reflective of the City’s strong and expanding economy, budgetary flexibility and availability of funds and strong debt position.
Specifically noted in S&P’s report was Naperville’s “very strong and expanding local economy,” along with “several years of surplus financial operations and a very strong reserve and liquidity position, supported by sound management practices and strong institutional framework score.” Moody’s cited the “city’s substantial and affluent tax base . . . sound financial profile (and) low debt burden.”
These ratings are a testament to the City Council and City leadership’s commitment to its financial principles, which have guided the City’s budgetary process since 2015. These principles – passing a structurally balanced operating budget annually, committing to continuous improvement in the delivery of necessary and cost-effective services and actively seeking to increase reserves to 25% and reduce debt by 25% within an eight-year timeframe – provided structure to create a long-term sustainable financial plan for Naperville.
The rating reviews were performed in conjunction with a planned almost $7 million bond issuance for the City’s Water 2.0 project, which installed approximately 43,500 wireless meter interface units to water meter reading devices or touchpads to transmit wireless remote monthly readings for a better customer billing experience. The full ratings reports can be viewed at naperville.il.us/government/city-finances/.
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