Fitch Affirms Pasco County Schools, Florida's COPs & Sales Tax Revs at 'A'; Outlook Stable.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- In the course of routine surveillance, Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has affirmed the following ratings for Pasco County School Board, Florida (the school board or district): --$202 million of outstanding certificates of participation (COPs) issued through June 2007 at 'A'; --$72 million of outstanding sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. revenue bonds at 'A'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'A' rating on the COPs reflects the school district's healthy unreserved general fund balances, limited economy exhibiting below-average wealth levels, and moderate overall debt burden. The essential nature of leased projects enhanced by a master lease-purchase agreement Lease-purchase agreement An agreement that allows for portions of lease payments to be used to purchase the leased property. , which requires the district to appropriate lease payments on an all-or-none basis, is also a credit factor. Key rating drivers include the maintenance of operating flexibility in the context of volatile state aid and the successful management of capital needs, given expected declines in the district's tax base. The 'A' rating on the sales tax revenue bonds reflects the solid coverage of debt service by pledged revenues, sound growth in pledged revenues, and satisfactory legal provisions. The rating also reflects the underlying credit characteristics of the school district. There are no plans to leverage sales tax revenues further or to issue additional COPs. The sales tax revenue bonds are secured by a lien upon and pledge of a one-cent discretionary sales tax. Fiscal 2008 pledged revenues totaled $27 million and provided a healthy 1.9 times (x) coverage of maximum annual debt service (MADS), occurring in fiscal 2013; MADS coverage is projected to remain at a similar level in fiscal 2009. An expected 15% decline in the district's fiscal 2010 tax base will negatively affect the collection of sales tax revenues. However, officials expect MADS coverage to remain near 1.8x, which Fitch believes is sufficient for the rating level. The district receives sales tax revenues equal to 0.5 mill of its tax base, plus 45% of remaining revenues. As a condition of issuing the bonds, the district lowered its capital outlay capital outlay See capital expenditure. millage mill·age n. A tax rate on property, expressed in mills per dollar of value of the property. to 1.5 mills from the formerly 2.0 mill cap. Overall financial operations are sound and reserve levels are solid. The district's fiscal 2008 unreserved general fund balance equaled 7.3% of spending ($36.1 million), a healthy level for a Florida school district. Officials expect the fiscal 2009 unreserved balance to remain essentially unchanged, despite cuts in state aid and overestimated enrollment growth of approximately 800 students. A wage freeze Noun 1. wage freeze - a freeze of wages at a given level freeze - fixing (of prices or wages etc) at a particular level; "a freeze on hiring" wage freeze n → congelación f de salarios and deferment deferment Delaying of an obligation. See Default, Medical student debt. Cf Forbearance. of other planned spending helped close the gap, which reportedly reached $25 million. Officials are preparing for a 10% reduction in the fiscal 2010 budget, and they are committed to maintaining an unreserved general fund balance equal to at least 5% of spending. Moderate overall debt ratios equal $2,164 per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. , or 3.5% of total assessed value. The district currently leverages an above-average 0.9 mill of the capital outlay levy for COPs repayment, and Fitch believes that declines in the district's fiscal 2010 tax base will increase this figure to over 1.0 mill. However, the district has no plans to issue additional COPs and is currently compliant with the state's class size reduction amendment at the school level. Pasco County is primarily a tourist and retirement destination, given its location along the Gulf Coast. However, eastern portions of the county remain agriculturally based. Unemployment rates slowly rose above state levels this decade, and increased greatly in March 2009 to 11.5%, signaling weakness in the local economy. Per capita personal income levels exhibit similarly downbeat down·beat n. 1. Music a. The downward stroke made by a conductor to indicate the first beat of a measure. b. The first beat of a measure. 2. Informal A period of stagnation or inactivity. trends. While the underlying rating on the series 1996 COPs was assigned Feb. 20, 2004, the rating was not reflected on Fitch Ratings' website. With this affirmation, the full rating history is now available. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. 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