By Raquel Hendrickson | InMaricopa
The taxpayers of Maricopa are paying off Copper Sky Regional Park, and City Hall is trying to get a better interest rate.
Monday, the City is taking $10.15 million of its general obligation bond into the market for refinancing. The odds are in its favor, as three bond-rating companies upgraded Maricopa’s bond in late May.
The City had been warned by all three companies – Standard & Poor, Moody’s and Fitch – that the market was tenuous because of COVID-19 and other economic factors. Tuesday, City Manager Rick Horst told the city council he had been told to expect to stay at the same rating or even drop, but the bond rating was in fact upgraded by all three.
“Moody’s took us from AA3 to AA2. There’s only one step higher, which is AA1,” Horst said. “Fitch rated us for the first time ever AAA, the highest rating that they can give. Standard & Poor rated us as AA, with AA+ being the highest standard.”
