Credit Agency S&P Global Affirms Medford’s AA+ Bond Rating

Firm attributes strong rating to improved reserve levels and annual new growth

S&P Global affirmed the City’s AA+ credit rating, the second highest possible rating for a municipality, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced. When deciding on its rating, S&P cited Medford’s “consistent financial results and improved reserve levels,” as well as noting that the City’s levels of taxable new growth had “rebounded from pandemic-related slowdowns,” and that local receipts “outperformed” budget estimates.

“I am thrilled that S&P has acknowledged the tremendous work our team has been doing to expand the City’s growth, improve our financial outlook and prepare for future emergencies by building our cash reserves,” Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. “This credit rating solidifies that our financial strategy is on the right track and will continue to prioritize the community’s fiscal health while also continuing to invest in key infrastructure, programming, and resource initiatives while settling several fair contracts. Thank you to our finance team, led by our Finance Director/Auditor Bob Dickinson and Assistant Finance Director/Budget Manager Courtney Cardello, as well as  Treasurer/Collector Judy Johnston, Chief Assessor Ted Costigan, and Chief of Staff Nina Nazarian.”

The report gave a substantial overview of the City’s credit overview and specifically cited several factors that led to the impressive credit rating, including:

• Fund balance has “nearly doubled over the last three years...”
• City Council approved establishing a general stabilization account
• A “strong management environment with a suite of formal policies and robust long-term capital and financial planning.”

As for the City’s outlook, S&P Global stated that “our view of Medford’s consistent financial performance and reserve levels that is likely to be sustained based on the city’s strong managerial framework.”

This affirmation wouldn’t have been possible without the collaborative work between the City administration, City Council and School Committee to craft responsible budgets and begin the planning to properly protect the community from future unforeseen emergencies.

The full report is available on the City’s website at medfordma.org/budget.