Bangkok--29 Jun--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term and underlying rating (SPUR) to 'A+' from 'AA-' on Kent, Wash.'s outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds. At the same time, Standard & Poor's lowered its SPUR to 'A+' from 'AA-' on the city's series 2008 special events center sales tax bonds issued by the Kent Special Events Center Public Facilities District (PFD). The outlook on all bonds is negative.
"The lowered ratings reflect our view of Kent's pattern of lower-than-expected revenue, which has yielded operating imbalances in recent years," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kaitlyn Connors.
"We do not see signs that the city's budgetary challenges will ease much during the next two years. If the city is unable to restore the general fund's operations to balance, we could lower the rating further. Conversely, if the city were to restore structural balance and begin building its reserves, we could revise the outlook to stable," Ms. Connors added.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
- USPF Criteria: GO Debt, Oct. 12, 2006
- USPF Criteria: Appropriation-Backed Obligations, June 13, 2007
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column.
Media Contact:
Edward Sweeney, New York (1) 212-438-6634,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Kaitlyn Connors, San Francisco 415-371-5033
Chris Morgan, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5032