Fitch Rates Bexar County, Texas Limited Tax Rfdg Bonds 'AA+'.AUSTIN, Texas -- Fitch assigns its 'AA+' rating to the $5.2 million limited tax general obligation refunding bonds refunding bond A bond that is issued for the purpose of retiring an outstanding bond. Issuers refund bond issues to reduce financing costs, eliminate covenants, and alter maturities. See also crossover refunding bonds, prerefunding. , series 2006 of Bexar County, Texas Bexar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 1,392,931. Its county seat is San Antonio6. In Spanish, "Béxar" is pronounced [ˈbehaɾ] . Additionally, Fitch affirms the 'AA+' rating on the county's $6.1 million unlimited tax bonds, $88.7 million limited tax bonds, $60.8 million certificates of obligation, and $7.8 million flood control tax and revenue certificates of obligation outstanding. The bonds are scheduled to sell the week of April 11 via negotiation through Estrada Hinojosa & Co., Inc. and Siebert Brandford Shank shank (shangk) 1. leg (1). 2. crus ( 2). shank n. The part of the human leg between the knee and ankle. & Co. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The bonds are payable from and secured by an annual ad valorem tax Ad Valorem Tax A tax based on the assessed value of real estate or personal property. In other words ad valorem taxes can be property tax or even duty on imported items. Property ad valorem taxes are the major source of revenues for state and municipal governments. levied against all taxable property within the county, subject to an $0.80 per $100 taxable assessed valuation (TAV tav also taw n. The 23rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet. See Table at alphabet. [Hebrew t ) limitation. Proceeds will be used to refund a portion of the county's outstanding tax-supported debt for annual interest savings and pay issuance costs. Fitch makes no distinction between the county's limited and unlimited tax-supported debt primarily due to the county's substantial taxing margin available to pay debt service on limited tax obligations. The 'AA+' rating reflects Bexar County's steady tax base growth, its adequate financial position, and the general overall health of the diversifying local economy. Also considered in the rating is the historically prudent financial stewardship of county finances, which has been necessary to address a recent imbalance between general fund revenues and expenditures. Additional significant credit factors are the county's very low direct debt burden that is rapidly amortized and the operating and capital pressures stemming from a growing population. A structural imbalance in the county's budget developed over the past several years, and as a result the county identified and made permanent structural financial changes in an attempt to bring current expenditures in line with current revenues. Evidence of the progress made in spending control efforts is found in the fiscal 2004 general fund operating results, which featured net income $526,000 and reserves in line with county's 10% fund balance policy. These results followed two years of operating losses operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. and significant reductions in reserves. Unaudited fiscal 2005 results anticipate operating reserve In power systems, the operating reserve is the generating capacity available to the system operator within a short interval of time to meet demand in case a generator is lost or there is another disruption to the supply. levels remaining in compliance with the fund balance policy. Bexar County, with an estimated 2004 population of 1.6 million, is home to San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. . The local economy is broad, consisting primarily of health care, government, trade, and tourism. The area health care industry creates an estimated annual economic impact of $10 billion. The county's proximity to Mexico is key to international business and trade. Approximately 50% of trade between the U.S. and Mexico passes through the county. Four major military installations, as well as a cadre of local governments, make up the government sector of the local economy. The 2005 recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign Commission would generate a net increase of roughly 6,000 military and civilian jobs at area bases. Also, San Antonio is a prominent tourist destination A tourist destination is a city, town or other area the economy of which is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions or visitor attractions and possibly some "tourist traps". for regional and out-of-state visitors due to its historic attractions and theme parks. A soon-to-be-constructed automotive manufacturing plant will further diversify the economy. TAV has grown steadily, registering a healthy 8.7% average annual increase for the past five years. Three-quarters of general fund revenue is derived from ad valorem taxes. Public safety expenses dominate the general fund budget, with just over half of available resources funding law enforcement and jail operations. Analysis and implementation of efficiency measures are ongoing to continue the budget stabilization plan implemented by the commissioner's court starting in fiscal 2004. While overall debt is relatively high at 7.2% of TAV, this is somewhat mitigated by the substantial state support of local school district obligations. With state support included, the overall debt burden falls to a more manageable 5.4%. Also, county direct debt is very low at $180 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. and 0.4% of taxable assessed value. Amortization of property tax supported debt is rapid with nearly 80% of principal retired in 10 years. County voters approved $99 million in additional debt authority for various purposes in November 2003; nearly $84 million remains unissued. No tax rate impact is anticipated to pay for any of the current authorization. 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. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion