FRESNO (KMJ) – The City of Fresno’s credit rating has moved up two notches.
Mayor Ashley Swearengin made the announcement Thursday, June 23rd at City Council, received a round of cheers and applause.
“Our overall city credit rating is going from a Triple B+ to an ‘A.'” – Mayor Ashley Swearengin.
Mayor Ashley Swearengin says Fitch is the most conservative credit rating agency, and they made their decision based on the improvements in Fresno’s financial resilience, inherent budget flexibility and the reserve safety margin.
The Mayor said Fitch believes the gains are likely to prove durable because they are driven by significant changes in the City of Fresno’s policies and procedures, and the management at the city learning financial lessons during the great recession.
The Mayor also instilled practices such as shortening labor contracts and she created a policy to address negative balances outside the General Fund.
Mayor Ashley Swearengin says the “A” rating sums up 7.5 years of work, and she credited Fresno City Council for helping Fresno get through the financial rough patch.
