Longboat gets AA+ credit rating for firehouse projects

“The outlook is stable.” Longboat Key’s financial outlook, that is.

Longboat Key received an AA+, stable credit rating — one notch below a perfect score — as the town prepares to go to market with a bond issue to fund the design, demolition, construction and equipment for the town’s north and south fire stations projects.

“That means we have a good reputation, that we are a solid organization and we will have no issues at the time that we are getting out to sell the bonds,” said Elizabeth Ramsden, accounting and budget manager. “We can expect that it will sell quickly, and we’re confident that it’ll be a successful transaction.”

Voters approved the $5 million project earlier this year in a referendum that asked residents to approve or reject town spending to renovate the north fire station and rebuild the one on the south end of the island.

A higher credit rating gives the town latitude to accept bond offers at a lower interest rate than if the town had been rated lower. It’s almost like a credit score for an individual: the better the rating, the lower the potential interest rate.

In 2010, the town received an AA-, stable rating for a general obligation bond it sought   for beach renourishment, Ramsden said.

Town officials plan to go to the bond market for the firehouse renovation funding this month with plans to sell the bond by September. 

Once the town sells the bond, it must find a contractor to do the work. This will begin with an effort to find an architect to design the project.

When the town sells the bond and chooses an architect — a process Ramsden said should be done by mid-September — it may begin designing the project.