Santa Clarita’s sound financial management and demonstrated economic and financial stability, earned the city the second highest Standard & Poor’s credit rating possible. The city’s bond rating was upgraded from AA to AA+ on June 9, the third credit upgrade for the City in five years. Standard & Poor’s national scale ratings provide an opinion of the relative creditworthiness of entities, with the highest rating being AAA. According to Standard & Poor’s report to asses Santa Clarita, the city has performed well financially in recent years and has “a very strong” 44.6 percent of expenditures, up from $28.5 million in 2007. Although sales taxes, which account for approximately 37percent of revenues, have fallen 15 percent in FY 2009 to about $27.8 million, Santa Clarita cut expenditures to adjust for declining revenues. As a result, operating revenues have exceeded expenditures by about $300,000 so far. “As with our recent reviews of cities and counties in other regions, we believe that these communities have demonstrated some combination of the following credit strengths: economic stability, strong financial performance and good management practices,” said the report. “The decisions you make in bad times are more important than the decisions you make in good times,” have helped Santa Clarita improve its credit rating, maintain a strong reserve and enjoy excellent fiscal health, said City Manager Ken Pulskamp. “The City of Santa Clarita continues to be a choice destination for new business, with two shopping center openings and a mall expansion occurring over the last 18 months, not to mention an increase in location filming,” Pulskamp said. Andrea Alegria
