Suwanee Bond Rating Upgraded Again

Suwanee city government has achieved another plus, as the bond rating service Fitch upgraded its grade to AA+ from AA.

This comes soon after the city lowered its millage (tax) rate for the second straight year. Also, in April the Standard and Poor rating service upgraded Suwanee to AA from AA-.

“To say that we're excited about this would be a huge understatement,” Suwanee Mayor Dave Williams said in a media release. “That two separate, independent, and well-respected financial rating companies have upgraded the City of Suwanee’s bond rating in these financially turbulent times says a lot about our fiscal policies and practices.

The city has held up better than many municipalities in the recession. Its unemployment rate is around 4 percent, less than half of that of the state and metro Atlanta. Also, it has not been hit as hard as Gwinnett County in general with housing foreclosures.

Fitch noted that the city’s overall debt is approximately 2.1 percent of market value, which Fitch considers low, and that debt ratios benefit from the city’s use of recurring revenue to fund capital needs.