ALFRED — York County government got some good financial news this month, when the rating agency Standard & Poor’s upgraded the county’s rating for general obligation bonds from AA to AA+.

“The rating action reflects our opinion of the county’s consistent positive budgetary performance, which led to improved reserves, and stronger debt profile,” S & P Global Ratings, a  division of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, wrote in a five-page report issued earlier this month.

“It’s a far cry from where we were in 2007,” said York County Commission Vice Chairman Richard Dutemble, who announced the upgrade at a meeting on Wednesday amid a discussion of budget goals for the next fiscal year. 

Toward the end of 2006, the county’s bond rating was lowered to A- and it was made public that the county’s fund balance was running a deficit of $800,000. Shortly thereafter, a financial audit showed the deficit was actually up to $1.2 million. Steps were taken to shore up the county’s finances. 

In February 2012, the county’s efforts were rewarded with an upgrade to A and at the end of 2013, was upgraded to AA.

S & P Global Ratings said it expected no change from the new, AA+ rating in the next two years.

The ratings agency noted a number of factors that contributed to their decision to upgrade the county’s rating, including:

• A strong economy, with access to a broad and diverse metropolitan statistical area;

• Adequate management, with standard financial policies and practices;

• Strong budgetary performance: The county had operating surpluses of 4.1 percent of expenditures in the general fund and 2.9 percent of expenditures across all governmental funds in fiscal 2016. Officials balanced the fiscal 2017 budget, and management expects a surplus. For fiscal 2018, revenue and expenditures are currently tracking better than budgeted. 

• Very strong budgetary flexibility, with an available fund balance in fiscal 2016 of 18 percent of operating expenditures; 

• Very strong liquidity, with total government available cash at 21.4 percent of total-governmental-fund expenditures 

• Very strong debt-and-contingent-liability position, with debt service carrying charges at 6.8 percent of expenditures and net direct debt that is 28.2 percent of total-governmental-fund revenue, as well as rapid amortization, with all debt scheduled to be retired within 10 years. 

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].