The City of Arlington met with bond rating agencies in the last few weeks, and Standard and Poor's upgraded the City's General Obligation debt and the City's Water and Wastewater bonds to the highest rating possible - AAA.

The City's bond ratings have been improving steadily in recent years, as the attached chart indicates.

Both Fitch and Moody's affirmed the ratings for both the GO and Water bonds.

Standard and Poor's said that the higher rating reflects their opinion of:

• The City's stable and diverse economic base, which benefits from its location between Dallas and Fort Worth;
• Arlington's historically very strong financial position;
• Diverse and stable revenue streams; and,
• Continual implementation of strong financial management policies and practices.

The higher rating for the Water Utility reflects the general creditworthiness of the utility as well as:

• Deep service area economy and stable customer base;
• Limited operational and financial risk by way of its raw water and wastewater treatment wholesale providers; and,
• Strong historical financial risk profile, including both its coverage metrics and cash reserves.

S&P also designated a stable outlook for the City. "In our opinion, the City's strong financial policies will likely help mitigate the effect of potential revenue volatility on the City's reserves and overall budgetary performance," according to S&P. City Manager Trey Yelverton said that the ratings upgrade has been years in the making.

"The City Council and City staff have worked diligently over the last few years and have made difficult decisions to keep the City of Arlington in a strong financial position," Yelverton said. "We believe this rating is indicative of the continuing improvements we are seeing in Arlington."

The City will issue bonds in a competitive sale on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Please see below for the City of Arlington's Ratings History.