NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings has assigned the following ratings to the city of Milford, CT's general obligation (GO) bonds and bond anticipation notes (BANs):
-- $16,000,000 GO bonds, series 2013, 'AA+';
-- $15,354,000 GO BANs, Lot A, 'F1+';
-- $4,031,000 GO BANs, Lot B, 'F1+'.
The bonds and notes are scheduled to sell competitively on Oct. 31. The proceeds of the bonds will be used to finance outstanding BANs and provide funding for various public improvement, school and sewer projects. The BANs are being issued to fund city, school and sewer projects.
In addition, Fitch affirms the city's following ratings:
-- $104 million outstanding GO bonds, at 'AA+'.
The Rating Outlook is Stable.
SECURITY
The bonds and notes are general obligations of the city, backed by its full faith and credit and unlimited taxing power.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
ABOVE-AVERAGE SOCIOECONOMIC PROFILE: The city benefits from a stable economy with above-average real estate valuations, high wealth levels, and a diverse tax base.
SOUND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Management's conservative budget practices and prudent debt policies provide for financial stability.
STRONG AND STABLE RESERVES: Milford's healthy reserve levels have been maintained and provide for financial flexibility if unforeseen pressures should arise.
MODERATE DEBT LEVELS: Milford's debt burden is moderate and its long-term obligation profile benefits from rapid amortization and manageable borrowing plans.
RETIREE COSTS WELL-FUNDED: Pensions are overfunded and other post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities are manageable.
PROVEN MARKET ACCESS: The 'F1+' rating on the BANs reflects the city's strong long-term credit characteristics and history of successful market access.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
The rating is sensitive to shifts in fundamental credit characteristics including the city's strong financial management practices and maintenance of healthy reserve levels. The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that such shifts are highly unlikely.
CREDIT PROFILE
The city of Milford is located in New Haven County between New Haven and Bridgeport. The city has 17 miles of shorefront property along the Long Island Sound and a 2012 population of 52,981.
ABOVE-AVERAGE SOCIOECONOMIC PROFILE
Residents benefit from easy access to the employment market in southern Fairfield County via Interstate 95, the Merritt Parkway, and Metro North rail. Residents are affluent, with median household incomes equal to 151% of the national average and 115% of the state's high average. The city's July 2013 unemployment rate improved to 7.3% from 8% the year prior due to job growth and a reduction in the labor force, and remains below the state's rate of 8.4%.
The city is primarily residential with some commercial and industrial presence represented by the Connecticut Post Shopping Center and power plant operator GenConn Devon LLC, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. The top ten taxpayers represent a moderate 8.4% of taxable value.
The tax base underwent a five-year revaluation effective Oct. 1, 2011 for fiscal 2013 and values improved by 18.3%. The upward valuation was mostly due to management's decision to freeze the five-year phase in of the 2006 revaluation after only 40% of the change in values had been realized. Market value for fiscal 2014 is estimated at a large $9.2 billion compared to assessed value of $6.4 billion. Top employers include the city's Board of Education (BOE) with 1,106 workers, Subway world headquarters (870), Milford Hospital (774), and Schick Manufacturing, Inc., the razor manufacturer (696).
SOUND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
The city's financial position continues to be sound. For fiscal 2012 the city realized greater property tax collections, better than expected intergovernmental revenues, and educational and healthcare savings. General fund transfers out included $1.7 million to the city's capital non-recurring fund, to cover in part costs incurred for Hurricane Irene damage and an annual transfer of approximately $700,000 towards new vehicle acquisitions, per policy. The city only used $2.5 million of the originally appropriated $4 million in fund balance resulting in a decrease in total unrestricted fund balance (the sum of committed, assigned and unassigned) from $23.1 million to $21.1 million, or a still sound 10.3% of general fund spending. Fiscal 2012 unassigned fund balance totaled $15.6 million, equal to 8.1% of revenues, which is in line with management's informal goal of a minimum of 5% and target of 7%-8%. Property taxes, excluding payment-in-lieu-of taxes from certain utilities, made up a high 76% of fiscal 2012 revenues.
EXPECTATIONS FOR FISCAL 2013
The fiscal 2013 budget contained an overall modest 1.2% expenditure increase for the city and schools, reflecting increases in salaries and wages. The 2013 budget did not include appropriation of any fund balance. Education funding, which represents 58% of the city's general fund expenditures, was budgeted to increase approximately 1.8% compared to the year prior.
Property tax revenues are projected to exceed budget due to stronger tax collections and the sale of delinquent tax liens which were not budgeted for. Other fee revenues also exceeded budget. The city had emergency expenses as a result of Hurricane Sandy totaling $1.4 million and used unassigned fund balance to cover these costs. Management expects close to full reimbursement from FEMA and insurance coverage. To prevent a further use of reserves, management imposed a hiring freeze and a freeze on overtime costs. Expenditures were also reduced across all departments. In addition to the $1.4 million allocated for Hurricane Sandy, transfers out of the general fund included $766,000 towards the vehicle replacement fund. Management is projecting a solid $4.4 million surplus after transfers, on a budgetary basis.
For the city's fiscal 2014 budget, management has returned to its typical practice of including a portion of fund balance to balance its budget and reduce pressure on its mill rate. The budget includes a $5 million use of fund balance and a 2.6% mill rate increase to 26.28. The city has historically not used all of its appropriated fund balance and has kept an adequate level of unrestricted reserves within its policy levels.
MODERATE DEBT BURDEN
Debt ratios are moderate with overall net debt of $175 million equal to $3,309 per capita and 1.9% of market value. Fiscal 2013 budgeted debt service is a modest 7% of general fund spending, below the informal policy limit of 10%. The five-year capital improvement plan includes approximately $78 million in borrowing over the next five years, much of which is for school projects and sewer improvements. Fitch believes that the city's debt burden will increase but remain manageable due to its above-average amortization rate of 66% of debt retiring in 10 years and the city's restrictive annual debt service policy.
RETIREE COSTS WELL-FUNDED
The city's single-employer pension plan was overfunded at 110% of the actuarial accrued liability as of the plan's July 1, 2012 valuation, using an 8.25% discount rate. With Fitch's more conservative 7% rate adjustment, the funded ratio would still be high at 97%. The city continues to make 100% of its annual required contribution (ARC) and contributed $342,000 in fiscal 2012. The plan covers Milford's full-time employees with the exception of teachers, who are covered by the state's poorly funded plan. The state is responsible for costs related to teacher pensions.
The unfunded liability for OPEB is $265 million or a moderate 2.9% of market value. The fiscal 2012 pay-as-you-go amount on a combined basis for the city and BOE was $12.1 million (45% of the ARC). Management has established a trust for the city's portion of future OPEB liabilities and trust assets totaled $3.7 million at Aug. 30, 2013, as reported by management.
Total carrying costs for fiscal 2012 debt service, pension ARC, and OPEB pay-as-you-go costs were a moderate to low 10% of total fiscal 2012 governmental spending. Fitch expects carrying costs to remain manageable.
Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.
In addition to the sources of information identified in Fitch's Tax-Supported Rating Criteria, this action was additionally informed by information from Creditscope, University Financial Associates, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, IHS Global Insight, and National Association of Realtors.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
-- 'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 14, 2012);
-- 'U.S. Local Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 14, 2012);
-- 'Rating U.S. Municipal Short-Term Debt' (Nov. 27, 2012).
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=686015
U.S. Local Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=685314
Rating U.S. Municipal Short-Term Debt
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=695329
Additional Disclosure
Solicitation Status
http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=806291
ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.