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Council’s credit rating strengthened to AA

Published 29 Jul 2019

Independent financial rating agency Standard and Poor’s has today revised the Kāpiti Coast District Council’s credit rating outlook up two grades from A+ to AA.

The report confirms the Council’s budgetary performance is stronger than expected and continues to improve. It acknowledges the impact of strong financial management and focus on paying down debt.

Chair of Council’s Operations and Finance Committee, Councillor Michael Scott welcomed the news.

Councillor Scott says the upgraded rating is extremely pleasing and it’s very unusual for any organisation to improve their rating by this much in a calendar year.

“It confirms that we are absolutely on the right track. Our focus on spending less to pay back more debt and prioritising our spending is having the desired effect.

“The new rating will mean the cost of paying back interest will be lower and, for a small council like ours, this will have a positive impact on future rates,” he said.

The report says that Council’s liquidity coverage is exceptional due to its prefunding strategy and access to funds from the Local Government Funding Agency. It commends the management team’s efforts to continually improve the Council’s financial position.

Mayor K Gurunathan says it’s taken a lot of hard work over the past five years to get to this point.

“Improving the Council’s financial position amidst rising costs is no mean feat and I commend the efforts of staff and management in achieving this rating upgrade.”