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.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep 4: Top football teams in action, fantasy update and plays of the week Gregg Sarra sounds off on the Nassau Conference II football matchup between Calhoun at Carey, plus the comeback story of New Hyde Park's Gabriel Peter, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep 4: Top football teams in action, fantasy update and plays of the week Gregg Sarra sounds off on the Nassau Conference II football matchup between Calhoun at Carey, plus the comeback story of New Hyde Park's Gabriel Peter, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
