Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its long-term rating on Saratoga County, N.Y.'s general obligation (GO) bonds to AA from AA-plus.
The outlook is negative.
At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its AA long-term rating and negative outlook to the county's series 2012 public improvement refunding bonds.
"The downgrade is due to structurally unbalanced operations that have resulted in consecutive general fund drawdowns and diminished financial flexibility," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Hilary Sutton. "The negative outlook reflects our view of the implementation risk associated with the budget-balancing solutions management has identified."
