Six weeks into his role as Suffolk’s chief financial officer, Edward Romaine checked off a major priority of his administration: an upgrade in the county’s credit rating.
“This will save Suffolk residents millions of dollars and help us hold the line on taxes,” said Romaine who, as Brookhaven supervisor, increased the town’s rating to Triple-A, the highest available for a municipality. “This is great news and the first of what we hope to be several upgrades as we work to make Suffolk a safer and more affordable place to live,” the county executive said.
The S&P Global Ratings agency upgraded both its long-term and underlying ratings for the county from AA to A+ with a stable outlook. The move comes after former County Executive Steve Bellone was able to lift Suffolk’s finances out of junk bond status just before he ended his 12-year tenure. A better credit score allows the county to borrow money at a lower rate as it bonds for new borrowing and refinances existing debt. The county currently carries nearly $2 billion in debt.
In control of both the Suffolk Legislature and the executive suite for the first time in 20 years, the Republicans put securing the county’s financial footing at the top of their to-do list. “We will continue to work with our colleagues in the legislature and the comptroller’s office to streamline government and improve services while continuing this forward momentum,” Romaine said.
“Despite economic headwinds to the county's financial profile, Suffolk County is in a much stronger financial position to maintain higher reserves and structural balance,” the rating agency stated. “The combination of stronger financial management and financial performance, the historic level of reserves and budgetary flexibility, a sizable affluent economy that is more resilient than in years past, and a manageable debt burden are factors that align with a high-investment-grade rating.”
Moody’s Investor Services, Another Wall Street agency, also kicked up Suffolk’s rating a notch while Fitch kept its score at the current rate.
Romaine acknowledged that his reputation as Brookhaven’s top administrator may have also played into the rating upgrade. “The town was in a similar financial condition as the county, and we were able to lift its rating to the highest level. I’m going to do everything within my power to get Suffolk to Triple-A,” he pledged.
“This latest credit upgrade highlights the conservative budgeting practices of the Republican majority over the last two years,” said the legislature’s presiding officer, Kevin McCaffrey. “By overstating our expenses, underestimating our revenue, and making prudent use of one-time federal ARPA funds, we have put Suffolk County on a firm financial footing for the first time in 15 years. The legislature will continue to work with County Executive Romaine to ensure the long-term financial future of Suffolk County.”
"Over the past two years, the legislature has made a concerted effort to help strengthen the county's financial stability, and today's announcement is a big step in the right direction,” noted Legislator Jason Richberg, leader of the Democrat minority.
According to Comptroller John Kennedy, revenue from the county’s sales tax came in higher than budgeted, a factor leading to the upgrade. In addition, Suffolk got a $286.8 million shot in the arm in the form of federal pandemic relief to help cover its $3.9 billion budget, Kennedy noted.
“The rating further reflects our opinion of the county's robust local economy, characterized by very strong per capita taxable market values, very high residential incomes, and new developments supporting economic growth prospects,” said S&P. “Better budget policies and practices that have reduced reliance on revenue growth and one time measures to balance budgets, as well as a strong institutional framework score, strong financial performance and ample budgetary flexibility to provide officials headroom to make timely revenue and expenditure adjustments when economically sensitive revenues underperform, while we acknowledge that the county’s ability to cut core expenditures and raise operating revenues in any given moment is challenging, placing greater onus on its reserves and budgetary contingencies.”
“We will continue to be fiscally conservative and build more efficiency into Suffolk County government,” said Romaine. “The taxpayers put their faith in us to budget wisely and protect their dollars. That is what we are doing.”