White House, Tenn., GOs Raised to AA-Plus by S&P

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it raised its rating on White House, Tenn.'s outstanding general obligation bonds to AA-plus from AA-minus based on its recently released local GO criteria.

At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its AA-plus rating to the city's series 2013 GO public improvement bonds. The outlook on all the ratings is stable.

A pledge of the city's full faith credit taxing powers to levy ad valorem property taxes without limitation as to rate or amount secure these bonds.

"The rating reflects our assessment of White House's very strong economy, which benefits from participation in the broad and diverse economy of Nashville," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Edward McGlade, "and its very strong budgetary flexibility, with 2012 audited reserves at 83% of general fund expenditures."

Other factors include the city's: adequate budgetary performance which takes into account a very stable revenue stream; very strong liquidity providing very strong cash levels to cover both debt service and expenditures; strong management conditions with strong policies that enable the city to consistently maintain balanced budgets; and weak debt and contingent liabilities position, mostly reflecting the city's moderately high overall net debt.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that White House will maintain its strong financial position," added McGlade, "supported by a stable property tax base and limited future capital needs."

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