Good fiscal policies and strong recovery since Hurricane Ike are two factors Galveston County can claim after Moody's Investors Service assigned a Aaa rating to the county’s $64.6 million Limited Tax Refunding Bonds.

“This is a testament to our fiscally conservative approach to draft a budget year after year that funds important programs and services without increasing property taxes,” County Judge Mark Henry said. “The Moody’s Aaa rating will result in substantial savings for taxpayers and is proof that Galveston County continues to be a good steward of the public’s money.”

As stated in the Moody’s report the county's tax base has grown to historically high levels since Hurricane Ike. Within two years of the storm, the tax base had fully recovered and has grown at an average annual rate of 3.7 percent over the last five years.

“The county's financial position should remain stable, supported by a history of conservative budgeting that allows the county to consistently outperform its budgeted expenses and revenues,” the report states. “The upgrade to Aaa reflects the county’s large and diverse tax base that benefits from ongoing commercial and residential development, healthy financial position supported by conservative budgetary management, and average debt and pension burdens.”

Galveston County has joined the ranks of nine other counties in the state with at least one Aaa rating and is the only county on the Texas Gulf Coast with the highest possible rating.

About the ratings:

A rating is a grade that indicates the credit quality of a bond based on the evaluation of an issuer's financial strength. Private rating services such as Moody's provide these evaluations. Ratings are divided into several categories ranging from Aaa, reflecting the strongest credit quality, to D, reflecting the lowest.

Media Contact:

Brittany Rainville

Chief Communication Officer | Galveston County

O: 409.770.5457

Brittany.Rainville@galvestoncountytx.gov