S&P Rates City of St. Louis Series 2018 GO Bonds an ‘A+’,  Affirms ‘Stable’ Outlook and City’s Existing GO Debt as ‘A+’

Voters approved issuance of the no-tax-increase bonds in August for capital investments.

October 22, 2018 | 2 min reading time

This article is 6 years old. It was published on October 22, 2018.

(ST. LOUIS – October 22, 2018) S&P Global Ratings (S&P) assigned its ‘A+’ longterm rating to the City of St. Louis series 2018 general obligation (GO) bonds. The agency also affirmed its ‘A+’ rating on the city’s existing GO debt and its ‘A’ rating on the city’s existing appropriation debt, with a ‘stable’ outlook on all ratings.

Approved by St. Louis city voters during the August primary election, the series 2018 GO bonds are structured such that no tax increase is necessary to meet the debt service requirements.

“With this bond issuance, the City of St. Louis is demonstrating a commitment to fully using current tax levy resources before asking to increase property taxes," said Comptroller Darlene Green. “This aligns with our 10-year financial strategy to leverage no-tax-increase bonds, when possible, as a way for the city to better sustain routine capital investment in critical public safety and infrastructure needs.”

S&P viewed the city’s fiscal management, budget performance and strong liquidity as positive factors for the ‘A+’ credit rating for the City of St. Louis, stating that “management has demonstrated a capacity to maintain structural balance without significantly disrupting operations and continues to make a concerted effort to increase available general fund reserves.”

“S&P Global’s affirmed rating and the ‘A+’ rating on the new bonds is a testament to the financial management strategy we have taken to increase stability, control costs and grow our reserves,” said Comptroller Green.

Pricing for the series 2018 GO bonds is scheduled for October 30, with a scheduled closing date of November 15.


Comptroller Darlene Green is the chief fiscal officer of the City of St. Louis and is charged with safeguarding the city’s credit rating and with protecting taxpayer dollars. Visit www.stlouis-mo.gov/comptroller to learn more about the Office of the Comptroller.

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