San Antonio is the largest city in the US with a top AAA bond rating from all three major bond rating agencies for the ninth straight year, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
That is more than an accounting trick.
A AAA bond rating means lenders who finance the city's bonds and projects have more faith that the loan will be repaid, so the city can pay a lot less in interest. That means the City can spend more tax money building the things taxpayers want and less on paying interest.
San Antonio is the only major city with more than one million population to have a AAA rating from any of the major rating agencies, Fitch, Standard & Poor and Moody,'s, let alone from all three
.“I’m extremely proud of this accomplishment, especially in the face of so many external challenges- pressure from the state legislature to cap our revenues, the uncertainty of potential union-driven charter amendments and an unresolved collective bargaining agreement with the fire union,” City Manager Sheryl Sculley said. “To have done this again and again is a testament to our City team’s commitment to the community and San Antonio’s financial security.”
Mayor Nirenberg says the AAA bond rating is a major achievement that benefits every taxpayer, but he warns that approval of the three ballot initiatives proposed by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Union which will be on the ballot in November 'could put the bond rating in jeopardy.'
That's because City officials say limiting the salary and time of service of the city manager would indicate a politicization of city management, something that leads to less efficient city government.