Affirms Aa1 rating of $13.8 million outstanding rated parity debt
New York, May 08, 2013 --
Moody's Ratings
Issue: General Obligation Bonds, Series 2013A; Rating:
Aa1; Sale Amount: $4,158,000; Expected
Sale Date: 06-14-2013; Rating Description:
General Obligation
Issue: General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2013B;
Rating: Aa1; Sale Amount: $2,835,000;
Expected Sale Date: 06-05-2013; Rating Description:
General Obligation
Opinion
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Aa1 underlying rating to the
Town of Mamaroneck's (NY) $4.2 million General Obligation
Bonds, Series 2013A and $2.8 million General Obligation
Refunding Bonds, Series 2013B. Concurrently, Moody's
has affirmed the Aa1 rating on the town's outstanding $11.5
million general obligation bonds, which are secured by the town's
general obligation pledge as limited by the Property Tax Cap -
Legislation (Chapter 97 (Part A) of the Laws of the State of New York,
2011), and the Town of Mamaroneck Housing Authority's $2.3
million Hommock Park Apartment bonds, which are secured by the town's
unconditional guarantee of debt service payments.
Proceeds from the 2013A issue will be used to permanently finance $3.1
million in outstanding bond anticipation notes (BANs) and include $1.1
million in new money for various town projects. Proceeds of the
2013B issue will be used to refinance a portion of the town's General
Obligation Bonds, Series 2002 and Series 2004, for an expected
net present value savings of $142,269, or approximately
5.3% of refunded principal, with no extension of maturity
and savings taken over the life of the bonds.
RATING RATIONALE
The Aa1 reflects the town's narrowed financial position following several
consecutive years of operating deficits. The rating also factors
the town's sizable, wealthy tax base, which has been challenged
by a history of tax appeals; modest debt burden; and the recent
establishment of a formal fund balance recovery policy.
Effective January 1, 2012, all local governments in New York
State are subject to a property tax cap which limits levy increases to
2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. While
school district debt has been exempted from the cap, debt has not
been exempted for all other local governments. Moody's believes
that the risks associated with the property tax cap remain unchanged and
we do not foresee making a rating distinction between debt not subject
to the cap. For more information regarding the property tax cap
please reference the Special Comment "New York Local Governments' Debt
Under New Property Tax Cap to Be Rated the Same as Unlimited Tax General
Obligation Debt" released May 14, 2012.
STRENGTHS
- Sizable tax base with above average wealth indices
- Modest debt burden with aggressive principal payout
- Establishment of formal fund balance recovery policy
- Tax cap override
CHALLENGES
- Multi-year trend of structurally unbalanced operations
- Limited reserve levels inconsistent with a higher rating category
- History of tax appeals with top taxpayers
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING - UP
- Improved financial position through an established trend of structurally
balanced operations
- Increasing reserve balances to a level consistent with a higher
rating category
-Tax base expansion, which supports property tax revenue
growth
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING - DOWN
- Failure to achieve structurally balanced operations
- Continued deterioration of operating reserves and liquidity
- Significant decreases to the town's tax base and demographic
profile
RATING METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in this rating was General Obligation Bonds
Issued by US Local Governments published in April 2013. Please
see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy
of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Kristina Piccarreto
Associate Analyst
Public Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Nicholas Lehman
Analyst
Public Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's assigns Aa1 underlying rating to the Town of Mamaroneck's (NY) $4.2 million G.O. Bonds, Series 2013A and $2.8 million G.O. Refunding Bonds, Series 2013B