Fitch Revises Jefferson Parish, LA, Outlook to Stable; Affirms Ratings.AUSTIN, Texas -- 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 Jefferson Parish, LA, ratings: Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Coordinates: Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana that includes most of the suburban New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna. According to the 2000 census, Jefferson had a population of 455,466. -- $6.7 million outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds 'AA'. Jefferson 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. District -- $254.3 million outstanding revenue bonds 'AA-'. Fire District No. 7 -- $4.4 million outstanding GOs 'A'. Consolidated Recreation and Community Center & Playground District, Subdistrict No. 1 -- $8.7 million outstanding GOs 'A'. In addition, Fitch revised the Rating Outlook to Stable from Negative for all four credits. Fitch has revised the Outlook for these credits in response to continuing improvement in the parish's financial profile, despite the slow pace of rebuilding in adjacent New Orleans. Sales tax revenues continue to exhibit strong growth, evidence that the ongoing lack of business activity in New Orleans is generating substantial retail activity in Jefferson Parish. Receipts for the first seven months of 2006 are up nearly 45% over the same period last year. Further, taxable values in the parish are down less than expected -- the parish-wide taxable assessed valuation of roughly $2.3 billion is down only 6% from the prior year. Property tax collections also are significantly higher than originally projected. Current collections for 2006 are roughly 97% of the levy amount, which comfortably exceeds the 85% collection percentage the parish officials had anticipated earlier this year. The major longer term issue facing the parish is the future of New Orleans and its potential impact on businesses and residents. The uncertainty surrounding the pace and character of recovery in New Orleans poses potentially daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin challenges for the parish, given that the city historically has been the dominant economic component for the entire region. In addition, the parish faces recovery expenses of its own; to date, federal reimbursement of these costs has been slow in coming. The parish trimmed both revenue and expense estimates significantly for fiscal 2006. Although the budget anticipated a drawdown Drawdown The peak to trough decline during a specific record period of an investment or fund. It is usually quoted as the percentage between the peak to the trough. Notes: in general fund balance at current year-end, the revenue forecast included a 20% drop in sales tax receipts. In light of the robust level of retail activity and sales tax receipts, the parish now is forecasting a general fund balance of roughly $14.3 million for the end of 2006; this total will be little changed from the unaudited 2005 amount. Parish liquidity is sound, and cash levels have been augmented by $54 million in federal community disaster loan proceeds and a $20 million draw from a $30 million line of credit. Parish officials are hopeful that the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical (FEMA FEMA, n.pr See Federal Emergency Management Agency. ) will reimburse the parish for the more than $100 million in storm-related expenses so far; to date the parish has received approximately $63 million from FEMA. 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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