Maui County Government Bond Ratings Highest in State

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Sonia Isotov

Three major bond rating agencies scored Maui County with the highest bond ratings in the state earlier this month.

Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch rated Maui County Aa1/AA+/AA+, higher than any other county government in Hawaii and the State of Hawaii. A press release from Fitch Ratings credits Maui County’s “prudent fiscal management” which resulted in “strong financial performance.”

“High bond ratings are important because they are the county’s equivalent of someone’s personal credit score or credit rating,” said Mayor Alan Arakawa, in a written statement.

“It means spending less taxpayer money on borrowing money for important projects, because we’re paying less interest over time.

The fact that Maui County received such a great score means millions of dollars saved for taxpayers. I commend Finance Director Danny Agsalog and Budget Director Sandy Baz and their people for all their fine work.”

The news about high bond ratings comes on the heels of two other budget and finance awards for Maui County this year. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada awarded the county the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award as well as the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting, while the Distinguished Budget award reflects the commitment of a governing body and staff to meeting the highest principals of governmental budgeting.