S&P Raises Kendall County

Standard & Poor’s this week upgraded Kendall County’s general obligation rating to AA from AA-minus, citing its maintenance of strong financial operations and reserves in the face of strong property tax base growth and the upgrading of its financial management practices.

The review was conducted in conjunction with the county’s upcoming issue of $10 million of alternate-revenue source GO bonds.

The county, located far southwest of Chicago, benefits from its location in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and strong income levels. Offsetting factors include a high debt burden due to ongoing growth pressures of overlapping entities.

“We believe Kendall County officials will maintain strong reserves as the population and tax base continue to grow,” analyst Linda Merus wrote. “We also believe the county’s good planning and financial management efforts, as well as continued economic growth, will allow management to adopt structurally balanced budgets while addressing currently identified capital needs as a manageable portion of the overall budget.”

Three consecutive years of surpluses allowed the county to build general fund equity and boosted last year’s general fund balance to $12.4 million, or a very strong 67% of expenditures. Officials estimate the county will end fiscal 2008 with break-even or better results.

The rapidly growing county’s property tax base has grown in value an average of 16.9% over the last five years, reaching $3 billion in 2007, according to Standard & Poor’s.

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