Iowa City gets top bond rating

Iowa City has once again received a top credit rating.

Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency, on Thursday assigned a Aaa rating to $7.2 million in general obligation bonds and $520,000 in taxable general obligation bonds the city plans to sell this month. Aaa is the highest rating the company gives.

In a report, Moody's said the rating “reflects the city's stable tax base and economy that are anchored by the University of Iowa, … history of favorable financial operations and expected maintenance of healthy reserves, and manageable debt profile.”

The Aaa rating will allow the city to get better interest rates on loans, thus saving taxpayers money.

The city said in a news release that this was the 37

^th

straight year it had received the top rating.

"We are pleased that Moody's has reaffirmed the City's Aaa GO (general obligation) bond rating," Iowa City Finance Director Dennis Bockenstedt said in a statement. "We understand that a bond rating is a snapshot in time, and that the City must continue its diligence in conducting its financial affairs. The rating reflects those efforts as well as the quality of the community as a whole."

The City Council is to vote on the bond issues June 18. The money would be used on various city projects.

Moody's Iowa City rating came one week after the agency

downgraded several bond ratings for neighboring Coralville, which led to renewed criticism of that city's financial practices.