New York-based rating agency Fitch Ratings has given the City of Worcester‘s $43 million in general obligation bonds an ‘A’ rating.
The bonds are scheduled to sell Sept. 16. Proceeds from the sale of the city’s $41.3 million in Series A bonds will be used to permanently finance other outstanding bonds and to fund various general government projects. Proceeds from the sale of city’s $1.7 million in Series B bonds will refund outstanding city bonds from 1995.
Fitch said the ‘A’ rating was a reflection of the city’s “prudent financial management” and a stable local economy, but warned that the city’s general fund balance is only “modest,” and that the city “faces a difficult financial landscape, a high fixed-cost burden,” faltering tax base growth and vulnerability to cuts in state aid.
