Credit rating should save money in future
By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Standard and Poor’s has re-affirmed Lambertville’s fiscal practices.
The city received an AA bond rating, the second highest only AAA is higher of the credit rating agency’s 12 classifications. That AA rating means the city can save a lot of money in the years ahead.
Thomas Hastie, Lambertville’s bond counsel, estimated that having a AA rating means the city would pay about $50,000 less in total interest on a $1 million dollar, 20-year bond than it would pay if it had an A rating.
According to S&P’s ratings system, bonds listed as having the AA rating are chosen because of the issuer’s “very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.”
AAA, the highest of Standard and Poor’s ratings and the only one higher than the one Lambertville received, is given for “extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments,” the Standard and Poor’s website says.
”Standard and Poor’s is essentially the report card for a municipality’s fiscal health and strength,” Lambertville mayor David DelVecchio said. “With their rating report, S&P’s has affirmed that the fiscal path the city has taken is the right one.”
Mayor DelVecchio said that factors which have positively affected the city’s rating include the downsizing of city staff through attrition, shared services agreements with other municipalities such as the South Hunterdon Renewable Energy Cooperative and enhanced energy efficiency initiatives to lower the city’s utility bills.
In its report on Lambertville, S&P’s said the city has many fiscal strengths, inlcuding:
A very strong economy due, in part, to participation in the broad and diverse New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area.
Strong budgetary flexibility with 2012 audited reserves at 11.7% of general fund expenditures.
Very strong liquidity providing very strong cash levels to cover both debt service and expenditures.

