New Haven gets bond rating upgrade
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
The city of New Haven has been issued another bond rating upgrade that comes with a stable outlook.
Mayor Justin Elicker said Fitch Ratings raised the issuer default and general obligation bonds ratings for the city from ‘BBB+’ to ‘A-’ and issued a “stable” outlook for the years ahead.
He said the upgrades reflect the budget reforms his administration has put into place, and the overall progress the city is making to strengthen its short- and long-term financial health.
Fitch noted the city's improved financial health in recent years, including an increase in the reserve funds, or rainy day funds, from 2.8% of the annual budget spending in 2019 to 8% by 2023.
The rainy-day fund now has a total of $50 million. Last week, Elicker announced a $16.4 million budget surplus for the 2023-24 fiscal year, with $13.4 million going toward the city’s rainy day fund.
The rating agency also highlighted the city's economic growth and development, including projects like Yale New Haven Hospital's $838 million neuroscience center, along with an expanding tax base supported by other new residential, lab, and medical office developments.
The rating increase helps reduce the interest rate on current and future borrowing, saving city taxpayers money, Elicker said.
This is the third rating upgrade for New Haven in the last three consecutive years. Last year, S&P Global Ratings issued a bond rating increase from ‘BBB+’ to ‘A-’, and the previous year Fitch Ratings increased the city’s bond rating from “BBB” to “BBB+.”
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