Fitch Upgrades Tulare County, California's COPs to '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 -- 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. upgrades Tulare County's outstanding $9.6 million certificates of participation (COPs) series 1996A, 1996B and outstanding $40.7 million certificates of participation (COP) series 1998A and 1998B to 'A+' from 'A'. In addition, Fitch affirms the 'A+' rating on outstanding $28.5 million pension obligation bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The upgrade on the COPs brings the rating into conformity with Fitch's criteria for lease ratings. Credit strengths include stable financial performance and satisfactory reserves, healthy assessed valuation gains, and stable economic underpinnings, in addition to strong lease provisions. The certificates are secured by annually appropriated lease payments by the county to the Tulare County Public Facilities Corporation for the use and possession of various projects. These include various criminal justice and administrative facilities which are in active use by the county. The county has covenanted under the lease agreement to budget and appropriate annually for the lease payments, subject to abatement A reduction, a decrease, or a diminution. The suspension or cessation, in whole or in part, of a continuing charge, such as rent. With respect to estates, an abatement is a proportional diminution or reduction of the monetary legacies, a disposition of property by will, when . Additional security to bondholders includes a standard reserve and rental interruption insurance to cover two years of lease payments. The county is located near the geographic center of the state. More than one-half of its 4,863 miles of land area is mountainous, and an additional one-third is part of the San Joaquin Valley Noun 1. San Joaquin Valley - a vast valley in central California known for its rich farmland Calif., California, Golden State, CA - a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes and citrus belt. The county is the largest producer of dairy products dairy products dairy npl → produits laitier dairy products dairy npl → Milchprodukte pl, Molkereiprodukte pl in the U.S. and the second highest ranking county in agricultural and livestock production. As expected in an agricultural area, income levels are below average as 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. real income in 2005 was 64% of state and 68% of U.S. levels. Unemployment levels also reflect the agricultural base of the county as the 2006 level was a high 8.5%. This is down from 9.4% in 2005. Financial operations of the county are satisfactory, demonstrated by sufficient reserve levels. Fiscal 2006 results show an unreserved fund balance of $31.7 million, or 6.3% of expenditures and transfers out. Fiscal 2007 results are expected to show no change in the general fund balance level. The county's capital improvement plan forecasts $21.9 million in spending for fiscal 2007 and 2008 and there are no plans for further debt issuance. The pension obligation bonds are secured by the county's absolute and unconditional obligation to make annual debt service payments. 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. |
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