S&P affirms Onondaga County’s bond rating, improves outlook

SYRACUSE — Onondaga County’s bond rating of “AA” has been affirmed by S&P Global Ratings with an improvement from “stable” to “positive” outlook. That’s according to an Oct. 7 announcement from the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. S&P Global Ratings, based in New York City, is a credit-rating agency and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. When explaining the improved outlook for Onondaga County, S&P noted, “The outlook revision reflects our expectation that the county’s economic metrics, specifically economic output, will likely exceed current peers as several substantial, significant economic developments begin construction,” per the county’s announcement. In affirming its credit rating, S&P said, “The rating reflects our opinion of the county’s strong budgetary performance, bolstered by strong sales tax collections, manageable fixed costs, and very strong management.” S&P went on to say in its opinion, “Through conservative budgeting, the county has absorbed increasing state mandates, such as the loss of enhanced federal-Medicaid-assistance-percentages funding and increases in salaries…” McMahon reacted to the bond-rating decision with the following remarks. “Responsible management of taxpayer dollars has been one of my top priorities. My administration has made historic investments in long underfunded issues like poverty, lead and workforce development. We have also made strategic investments in our infrastructure while working tirelessly to create real economic opportunity for everyone in our community,” the county executive said “We’ve been able to do all of that, and more, while lowering the property tax rate to the lowest in history. My administration continues to prove that responsible fiscal management combined with robust planning and comprehensive management can produce real results for our community and the future continues to be brighter than ever.”