Agency upgrades Hempstead Village's bond rating

A Wall Street agency has upgraded Hempstead Village's debt rating by one notch, citing improved tax collection, reduced debt load and a strong surplus as reasons for the increase.

The credit-ratings agency Standard & Poor's assigned an A rating, four grades below its top score.

Hempstead Village Mayor Wayne Hall Sr. said the new rating will likely boost the municipality's chances of getting lower interest rates when it borrows money.

The village's credit outlook has improved steadily since 2006, when Moody's put about $40 million of Hempstead's bond debt on a "watch list" for possible downgrading to below investment grade.

"It's significant because it took us 5 years to get here from one step above junk bond" status," Hall said.

The village expects to issue $6.75 million in bonds by this summer to pay for improvements to roads and sewers, buy a new fire truck and garbage trucks and make other upgrades.