From a press release:
Standard & Poor's, one of the nation's top bond-rating agencies, recently raised Harris County's bond rating to AAA, a goal toward which county officials have worked for decades. S&P praised the county's "strong financial management" and "low direct debt levels" in awarding it the agency's highest possible bond rating.
The AAA rating is expected to save county taxpayers millions of dollars in borrowing costs. The higher rating tells investors that bonds offered by Harris County are low-risk, making them more attractive to buyers and lowering the interest rates that taxpayers pay in return. And because the county finances many of its largest road, park, library and infrastructure projects through bond financing, the rating boost represents a significant savings to county taxpayers.
"I'm happy to see that Standard & Poor's recognizes what I've known all along, that Harris County has an exceptionally strong financial management team," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. "Commissioners Court has set in place a clear, long-standing policy of conservative budgeting, and that policy is paying off nicely for taxpayers."
Some background on bond ratings from Britannica online.
Commentary from the blogosphere.
