Recently, the rating agency Standard & Poor's reviewed Ashland's credit characteristics, and I am pleased to say that we have once again been assigned a "๐๐๐" ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ; the top rating a municipality can achieve. While it serves as a great report card for our financial management, it also has very practical applications for Ashland taxpayers. Just like people who have higher credit ratings receive better interest rates when they look to borrow money, cities and towns receive better interest rates the higher their credit rating is. With two large building projects on the horizon, the difference between an elite AAA rating and a lower rating can mean saving ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ of dollars (literally) for Ashland taxpayers.
In analyzing Ashland's credit characteristics, Standard and Poor's assigned their highest scores possible ("๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ") to the following areas: ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐ถ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐. They assigned their second-highest scores ("๐๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ") to the following: ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ, ๐๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ. They assigned their "Adequate" score to Budgetary Performance. Specifically, S&P highlighted the way Ashland has managed its finances during the pandemic noting that we have actually deposited more money into the stabilization fund than we withdrew.
I want to really congratulate our financial team, specifically Finance Director Brittany Iacaponi, Treasurer/Collector Cindy Cincotta, Assistant Town Manager Jenn Ball, and School Director of Finance and Operations Chris Mathieu for their continued excellent work managing our complex finances. And as always I want to thank The Select Board, School Committee, Finance Committee, and Superintendent Adams for their continued collaboration and dedication to our financial strategy.
