Moody's Upgrades to Baa2 Rockland County's, NY GO Rating

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa2 rating to Rockland County's (NY) $41 million General Obligation (Serial) Bonds, 2014 Series C. Concurrently, Moody's upgrades to Baa2 from Baa3 the rating on $368 million of GO debt outstanding; the outlook is positive. The bonds are secured by the county's general obligation pledge as limited by the Property Tax Cap Act (Chapter 97 (Part A) of the Laws of the State of New York, 2011. Proceeds of the bonds will be used for various capital projects throughout the county.

The upgrade to Baa2 reflects significant improvement in the county's management and budgeting practices; strengthened liquidity following the issuance of deficit reduction bonds and strong oversight by the state.

The positive outlook reflects our expectation that the strong budgeting practices will continue, resulting in improved financial operations in 2014 and 2015. Additionally, management recently announced the transfer of the county's mental health facility to Nyack Hospital and the sale of the county nursing home, likely resulting in significant expenditure savings over time.

The positive outlook reflects our expectation that the current budgeting practices will continue, resulting in improved financial results in 2014 and 2015. Additionally, the transfer of the mental health unit and the sale of the nursing home, if successful, will likely result in significant expenditure savings over time. We will continue to monitor the county's willingness and ability to structurally balance its budget.

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