On Monday, March 18, Mayor Carlo DeMaria announced that Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings assigned its ‘AA+’ long-term rating to the City of Everett for the third year in a row.
S & P cited the City’s strong management, strong budgetary performance, with operating surpluses, very strong budgetary flexibility, very strong liquidity, and low overall net debt. S & P also highlighted the DeMaria administration’s formal five-year, long-term capital and operating projections; and regular reporting on city finances with budget-to-actuals submitted to city council monthly and investment statements shared quarterly.
The rating continues to be driven by the development of the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor, which has had a notable effect on property values, and will add $25 million in annual recurring revenues to the City’s coffers once complete and will increase by 2.5% annually. The casino is one of three licensed in the state under current legislation and will be the closest casino to Boston.
Besides the casino, S & P also cited that additional recent residential and mixed-use development has aided further tax base expansion. These developments include:
•The newly opened, Pioneer, a mixed-used development that contains 284 apartment units and 2,100 square feet of retail space and a parking garage;
•WoodWaste, a residential project that will include 545 rental units.
They expect the city’s economy will likely remain strong throughout the two-year outlook period.
The long-term rating reflects the strong economy, with access to a broad and diverse metropolitan statistical area. In addition to, strong management with good financial policies and practices, strong budgetary performance, and strong institutional framework score. Mayor DeMaria stated, “The state of our city is strong and I am proud and honored that Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings has given us one of their highest ratings. These ratings ensure that we will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in borrowing costs. Saving our residents critical funds and allowing us to reinvest into city services, which are critical to our community. Everett is a great place to invest right now.”