Madison Maintains Aaa Bond Rating 51 Years in a Row

For Immediate Release 

Moody’s Investor Service has continued Madison’s Aaa bond rating with a stable outlook. This is the highest possible rating and reflects the City’s strong and diverse economy. The financial position of the City is consistently strong. The City has had a triple-A rating on its general obligation debt since 1973.

“Madison’s triple-A bonding is a key component of keeping borrowing costs low, which saves taxpayer money in the long run. The rating is essential for the City’s efforts to invest in the core infrastructure needed to maintain our residents’ quality of life and promote a stable economy,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “As we develop a sustainable budget plan for the future, maintaining Madison’s triple-A rating must be a top priority. No short-term benefit is worth jeopardizing our City’s long history of fiscal prudence.”

Strengths for the City include a large, diverse tax base that serves as an economic hub, along with a solid financial position supported by prudent management. Credit challenges to the City include state-imposed property tax limits. Factors identified that could lead to a downgrade include a material narrowing of available fund balance.

Based on Moody’s analytic framework, the City has low exposure to environmental, social and governance risks that could negatively impact credit ratings. Moody’s cites the City’s Sustainability Plan, health insurance coverage rate of its residents, overall demographics and educational attainment levels, access to basic services, conservative budgetary approach, multi-year capital planning, and maintaining operating reserves in compliance with the City’s formal fund balance policy, as key reasons for maintaining the City’s credit rating.