Municipality
PA
Moody's Rating
ISSUE | RATING |
General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2011 | A1 |
Sale Amount | $5,970,000 |
Expected Sale Date | 07/11/11 |
Rating Description | General Obligation |
|
Opinion
NEW YORK, Jul 6, 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned an A1 rating to the Borough of Jefferson
Hill's (PA) $5.97 million General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2011. The bonds
are secured by the borough's general obligation, unlimited tax pledge. Of total
bond proceeds. $2.8 million will refund a portion of the Series 2005 bonds and
the remaining $3 million will fund capital projects including a new public works
garage. The estimated net present savings for the refunding portion of this
issue is $91,000 which is 3.25% of refunded principal with no extension in the
maturity date.
RATING RATIONALE
The A1 rating reflects the borough's limited residential tax base with average
income levels, ample general fund reserves and manageable debt burden.
STRENGTHS
-Ample General Fund reserves
-Moderate Debt Burden
CHALLENGES
-Limited Tax Base
HISTORY OF AMPLE RESERVES
Moody's anticipates that the borough will continue to maintain a
healthy financial position given a trend of ample reserves,
conservative budgeting practices and ongoing expenditure controls. The
average annual general fund balance between 2007 and 2009 was $3.3 million or a
very healthy 52% of general fund revenues. In fiscal 2009 (ended December 31),
the borough ended with $3.2 million in General Fund balance, maintaining its
healthy reserve levels at 48.7% of General Fund revenue. The borough had a small
operating deficit of $46,028 which management attributes to interest income not
meeting budgeted projections. Based on unaudited financial results, the Borough
ended fiscal 2010 with an estimated $600,000 operating surplus which will
contribute to an increase in General Fund reserves. The fiscal 2011
budget assumes a 2% increase over fiscal 2010's adopted budget and is balanced
with $973,450 appropriated from General Fund balance. Management believes that
the borough will end the year structurally balanced as indicated by current year
to date results. Moody's believes that the borough will maintain its healthy
financial position as a result of sound fiscal management and conservative
budgeting practices.
LIMITED BUT STABLE RESIDENTIAL TAX BASE
The borough's limited residential $585 million tax base is expected to remain
stable. The borough is favorably located 12 miles south of Pittsburgh
(A1/Negative Outlook) in Allegheny County (A1/Negative Outlook). The borough's
tax base is primarily residential, which accounts for 83% of the borough's
assessed valuation with a small commercial and industrial (10.2% and 3.4% of
assessed valuation, respectively). Management believes that the tax base will
remain stable due to a significant portion of vacant land available for
development. Some new residential construction is underway, including a
400-house single family housing development with homes estimated to sell around
$250,000.Residential development is expected to continue in the next several
years. Income levels are slightly above state and national averages, with per
capita income 110.2% of the state median and 106.6% of the national median.
Median family incomes is approximately 123.6%% of the state median and 121.4% of
the national medians. Full value per capita is below average at $58,335.
MANAGEABLE DEBT BURDEN WITH LIMITED FUTURE BORROWING PLANS
Moody's believes the borough's debt burden will remain manageable given limited
future borrowing plans. The borough's direct debt burden is 0.9% of full
valuation, although overlapping county and school district debt obligations
increase overall debt burden to an above-average 5.8% of full valuation.
Debt service is low at 3.2% of General Fund expenditures in fiscal 2009 and
principal amortization is slower than average with 40.9% of principal repaid
within 10 years. All of the borough's debt is fixed rate with no exposure to
derivatives.
What could make the rating go UP:
-Significant tax base growth
What could make the rating go DOWN:
-Increase in Debt Burden
-Decline in reserve levels and cash position
KEY STATISTICS:
2000 Population: 9,647
2010 Full Valuation: $562.7 million
2010 Full Value Per Capita: $58,335
1999 Per Capita Income (as% of PA and US): $23,006 (110.0% and 106.6%)
1999 Median Family Income (as% of PA and US): $60,767 (123.6% and 121.4%)
Direct Debt Burden: 0.9%
Overall Debt Burden: 5.8%
Payout of Principal (10 years): 40.9%
FY10 General Fund balance: $3.2 (48.6% of General Fund revenues)
Post-sale parity rated debt outstanding: $5.7 million
The principal methodology used in this rating was General Obligation
Bonds Issued by U.S. Local Governments published in October 2009.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
Information sources used to prepare the credit rating are the following: parties
involved in the ratings and public information.
Moody's Investors Service considers the quality of information available on the
credit satisfactory for the purposes of assigning a credit rating.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses in assigning a credit rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent third-party sources. However, Moody's is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process.
Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on Moodys.com for the last rating action and the rating history.
The date on which some Credit Ratings were first released goes back to a time before Moody's Investors Service's Credit Ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not be available. Consequently, Moody's Investors Service provides a date that it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Please see the Credit Policy page on Moodys.com for the methodologies used in determining ratings, further information on the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and recovery.
Analysts
Shannon McCue
Analyst
Public Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
Jessica A. Lamendola
Backup Analyst
Public Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
Geordie Thompson
Senior Credit Officer
Public Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service
Contacts
Journalists: (212) 553-0376
Research Clients: (212) 553-1653
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
USA
MOODY'S ASSIGNS A1 RATING TO THE BOROUGH OF JEFFERSON HILLS' (PA) $5.97 MILLION G.O. BONDS, SERIES OF 2011