Upgrades All Around

Standard & Poor’s last week raised its ratings on 88 smaller or remote municipalities in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin following a review of their financial performance under revised criteria.

“Although size and location have weighed heavily on our ratings in the past, in our view, these credits can, and often do, exhibit many of the same economic and financial strengths as their larger counterparts,” analysts Jane Hudson Ridley and James Wiemken wrote in their report. “The key to a higher rating, in our opinion, is achieving a balance between location and economic opportunity that helps maintain financial stability.”

The upgraded issuers in Michigan included Allegan City, Alma, Alpena County, Barry County, Bay City, Belding, Benzie County, Birch Run Village, Branch County, Brandon Charter Township, Brownstone Charter Township, Burton, Cadillac, Caledonia Charter Township, Calhoun County, Canton Charter Township, Caseville Township, Cedar Springs, Charlevoix, Clinton Charter Township and Coldwater.

Also included were DeWitt Charter Township, Elmwood Charter Township, Fowlerville, Frankenlust, Gaylord, Grand Ledge, Greenville, Harbor Beach, Hazel Park, Highland Township, Huron County, Imlay City, Ionia, Iron County, Lake Charter Township, Lake Orion Village, Leelanau County, Lowell, Ludington, Mackinac County and Manchester Village.

The Michigan upgrades were rounded out with Marquette County, Mason, Mecosta County, Montcalm County, Napoleon Township, New Baltimore, Otsego County, Oxford Charter Township, Parchment, Pere Marquette Charter Township, Romulus, Shelby Charter Township, Spring Lake Village, St. Johns, Tecumseh, Tuscola County, West Branch and Wyandotte.

In Illinois, the upgraded issuers included Elwood Village and Hillside Village. In Indiana, they included Auburn, Buck Creek Township, Clarksville, Clay County, Cumberland, Dearborn County, the Dyer Redevelopment Commission, Goshen, Greenwood, Griffith, Hobart, Jasper, Knox County, Lawrence, Mishawaka, Schererville, Shelby County, Valparaiso and Washington Township.

In Missouri, they included Branson, Joplin, Liberty and Poplar Bluff, while in Ohio Ottawa Hills Village and Putnam County were upgraded, as was Rib Mountain in Wisconsin.

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