Huntington: Town cashes in on bond sales

Town of Huntington officials say the favorable ratings recently issued to the town by three Wall Street investment firms helped the town sell bonds at the lowest rate in three years.

Town officials said that last week they sold $9.88 million in bonds at a rate of 2.82 percent, following decisions by Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch to maintain the town's AAA bond rating.

An AAA rating reflects a strong economic base, high residential wealth, strong financial operations characterized by ample reserves and strong liquidity, low debt levels and limited future capital needs.

"We are gratified that Wall Street continues to recognize the responsible way we have managed Town finances," Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said in a statement. "But the big winners of these high ratings are Town taxpayers because of the money saved as a result of this very favorable interest rate."

Standard & Poor's, in a town news release, cited Huntington's "diverse and continually expanding local employment base with easy access to the Long Island and New York City employment bases; consistently solid financial position, highlighted by what we consider a healthy unreserved general fund balance, and low debt burden. "

In the same release, the town said Fitch noted that "strong financial management practices, including conservative budgeting and demonstrated ability to control expenditures combined with a mature and stable tax base have enabled the town to maintain strong reserve levels and overall financial flexibility."

Moody's cited the town's "narrowing but still satisfactory financial position . . . and low debt burden with a manageable capital program," the news release said.

The $9.88 million will be used for the South Huntington Water District ($3.5 million), road rehabilitation ($2.6 million), and $3.78 million in other capital projects (replacing an elevator in Town Hall, rehabilitation of Woodbine Marina in Northport, the purchase of vehicles including one new compressed natural gas garbage truck, and replacement of the roof at the town's Emergency Operations Center on Pulaski Road, among other things).

In 2010, the town's bond rate was 2.85 percent, and in 2009 it was 2.96 percent.