On Nov. 17, the borough of Hopewell, N.J., (rated A1) was delinquent in the making the principal payment on its general improvement bonds and water utility bonds issued on November 30, 2005.
According to borough management, the mistake was made due to an administrative oversight. Upon realizing the error, the borough made the full principal payment on Tuesday, November 18, 2014.
Moody's believes the payment delay was due to an administrative error, not an impairment of the borough's ability to pay.
Following this event, the borough plans to establish its internal processes for making debt service payments to ensure timely payments going forward by establishing automatic bank transfers.
A recurrence is unlikely given the remedial steps taken and the heightened awareness by the borough, Moody's said.
