RALEIGH -- Wake County is awaiting word on whether the Moody's rating agency will lift the "negative outlook" it imposed on the county's credit rating this summer after Standard & Poor's downgraded the federal government's credit, County Manager David Cooke said Monday.
Moody's Investor Service told Wake in August the county had maintained its AAA rating, but received a "negative outlook," or possibility of downgrade, because of possible links to the federal government's financial woes.
The action by Standard & Poor's came after Congress spent weeks in gridlock over whether and how to extend the nation's debt ceiling.
Among the information Moody asked of Wake, the county had to explain it doesn't have a public hospital, many of which rely heavily on federal Medicare and Medicaid payments.
"Moody's states within the next two weeks that we should receive an answer," Nicole Kreiser, debt and capital director with the county finance department, told the Board of Commissioners on Monday.
In addition, commissioners will vote next Monday on a recommendation to use $30 million in cash to pay off some of the county's variable-rate debt and refinance another $94 million from variable- to fixed-rate bonds.
Commissioner Joe Bryan applauded the idea of converting the variable-rate investments to fixed rates at historic lows.
In other finance-related actions, commissioners heard Cooke and the finance department would like to:
Reduce Wake's projected investment growth from 2 percent to 1 percent for this fiscal year.
Add nearly $8 million to its fund for paying off debt.
Issue $96 million in bonds for schools in the coming year and put off borrowing for libraries and open space. The money comes from the 2006 school bond issue approved by voters.
In addition, Wake County has the capacity to issue as much as $75 million in general obligation bonds in the next fiscal year without a tax increase, planners said.
General obligation bonds are those backed by the credit of a governing body, as opposed to revenue bonds, which are paid back by a specific revenue stream such as customers' utility bills.
