Snoqualmie earns elite bond rating

Published 1:02 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE – If Snoqualmie wants to borrow some money from you, you should let it.

The city’s good for it.

That is a layman’s way of explaining the city of Snoqualmie’s recent A-minus bond rating given by Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations (S & P), a firm that rates bonds from around the world.

“That reflects that Snoqualmie is a city with good financial management with good polices in place,” said Snoqualmie City Administrator Gary Armstrong. “It’s reflective of the good financial health of the city.”

Every time a city needs to issue bonds for a project, a rating is attached to them by S & P or some other firm that rates the city’s fiscal practices and ability to pay back bonds. Higher ratings mean low interest rates on bonds, which in turn lowers the overall cost of completing a project.

A high rating conveys that Snoqualmie has sound financial policies and practices in place that ensure investors their money will come back to them.

The recent S & P rating was attached to the $3.6 million in bonds the city is putting out to build a new fire station off Snoqualmie Parkway.

The 20-year unlimited tax general obligation bonds for the fire station, which were approved by the City Council at its Nov. 25 meeting, will be issued with an average interest rate of 4.35 percent.

The bonds were made available to local investors on a first priority basis, allowing them to buy bonds that support the community while earning tax-free interest.

Although ratings can go as high as AAA, a grade of A-minus is remarkable for a city the size of Snoqualmie.

For the complete story pick up a copy of this week’s Valley Record