San Jose City Hall, 801 North First Street, Room 436, San Jose, CA 95110 (408)277-5131

San José Issued Highest Credit Rating Among State’s Ten Largest Cities

San José, California – The City of San José announced today that it has been issued credit ratings from Standard and Poors, Moody’s, and Fitch, which give San José the highest credit rating among the state’s ten largest cities.

San José received a rating of “AA+” from both Standard and Poors and Fitch, and an “Aa1” rating from Moody’s. The implied ratings put San José in the top rank for fiscal management. The new credit ratings will save taxpayers an estimated $6.8 million in financing costs for the two general obligation bonds passed in the November 2000 election for library and parks improvements. Additionally, the high credit rating will have a positive impact on City finances for future projects because the City will be able to borrow at a lower interest rate.

“I am proud and pleased that the financial community has given the City of San José the highest rating of any big city in California. This is more than a good grade. It means we can invest more to improve the quality of life of our neighborhoods,” stated Ron Gonzales, Mayor of San José.

It is significant that all three agencies issued San José an equivalent rating “across the board,” indicating that all three have a high regard for San José’s prudent money management and long term financial strategies.

“These ratings reflect San José’s sound financial operations and conservative fiscal management philosophy,” says City Manager Del Borgsdorf. “Our approach is to spend conservatively and increase our financial reserves so that we are well-prepared for economic uncertainty.”

The City of San José was also recently presented with the “Excellence in Operational Budgeting” award for 2000-2001 by the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. This award recognizes the achievement of excellence in operational budgeting and reflects an outstanding budget document and underlying budgeting process through which the budget is implemented.

Additionally, for the 12th straight year, the City has received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), and for the ninth consecutive year, the City received the Distinguished Budget Preparation Award from GFOA. For the 11th time, the City received the Award for Outstanding Financial Reporting from the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO).

# # # # #