West Windsor wins a rare AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — Sound financial management and long-term planning recently brought the township a AAA rating from the Standard & Poor’s rating agency at the end of November.
   Now that designation has resulted in significant savings for the township, according to Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, who announced Monday that the rating saved the township about $115,000 in a recent bond sale.
   The $9.1 million bond sale went to Commerce Capital Markets of Philadelphia on Nov. 28, and a township financial consulting firm evaluating the deal found the AAA rating saved $115,000 in funds, based on the length of term and dollar amount of the bonds.
   ”In the past six years we have gone through a step-by-step process to more effective management,” said Mayor Hsueh. “Everybody at the township has contributed to get to where we are today.”
   West Windsor Township now joins an elite group of only six New Jersey municipalities with the highest rating, according to Mayor Hsueh, who said there are only 88 municipalities nationwide with the same rating.
   Mayor Hsueh singled out the work of Business Administrator Christopher Marion and Chief Financial Officer Joanne Louth as being crucial to the township’s upgrade.
   Mr. Marion, who also gave much credit to Ms. Louth for the rating, said the assessment that led to the upgrade looks in part for long-term planning policies, like the township’s six-year capital budgets for planning for long-term expenditures.
   The agencies also assess parts of the township’s finances, including the purchasing of insurance and other human resources activities.
   ”Those are the things we have addressed internally,” said Mr. Marion. “We’re not perfect, but it is certainly a strong review of our financial procedures.” Attorney Edward J. McManimon — whose firm assists the township with bond sales and other financial matters — said the top Standard & Poor’s rating was an impressive feat for West Windsor Township.
   ”It is a substantial accomplishment for the township, reflecting their tax base, ratables, and financial management,” Mr. McManimon said.
   The new rating will significantly reduce the township’s costs in bonds and long-term debt, according to Mr. McManimon, who said the township would see lower interest rates on the sale of the township’s debt, in the form of municipal bonds.
   The rating system of the companies evaluating the municipalities looks at a township’s financial management, ratables, income levels and unemployment levels, Mr. McManimon said.
   ”If one of those things is off a little bit it won’t have an impact, on being rated AAA,” said Mr. McManimon. “But to be rated AAA means they will look at those things and compare them with all the other AAA communities.”
   Of neighboring towns, only Princeton Township also has the AAA rating.
   The new rating will not mean the municipal government will spend more taxpayer money, Mayor Hsueh said.
   ”It just means that with same amount of money, we can do more,” he said.
   Mayor Hsueh said the new rating will be helpful with the township’s redevelopment process, and that it would also be helpful as the township used bonds to finance projects aimed at making West Windsor more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly.