Miami-Dade County, Florida, was upgraded to AA-plus from AA by Fitch Ratings, which attributed the change to its new local government ratings criteria.
The outlook is stable.
Fitch cited the county’s “expected resilience to cyclical and noncyclical economic stressors due to its position as the primary anchor of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach [metropolitan statistical area], which accounts for over 2% of the national GDP.”
Bloomberg News
The county’s “financial resilience is driven by the combination of its ‘high’ revenue control assessment and ‘midrange’ expenditure control assessments, culminating in a ‘high mid-range’ budgetary flexibility,” Fitch said. The county’s revenue volatility has historically been worse than most counties, a credit negative, according to the agency.
Population growth in the past 10 years has been weaker than other local governments it rates, Fitch said. The county’s economic concentration and population size is strong. Its unemployment rate, educational attainment level, and median household income is midrange.
According to the audited financial consolidated report for fiscal year 2023, which ended September 30, 2023, the county’s total liabilities as of September 30 were $30.2 billion. According to Moody’s Ratings the county had about $20 billion in debt outstanding as of July 2023.
As part of its action on Monday, Fitch upgraded the county’s general obligation bonds to AA-plus from AA and to AA-plus from AA-minus public facilities bonds (Jackson Health System) and
Fitch affirmed the county’s transit system sales surtax bonds at AA, its subordinate special obligation revenue bonds at A-plus, and its professional sports franchise facilities tax revenue bonds at A-plus. Finally, it affirmed the bank bonds associated with the professional sports franchise facilities tax variable rate revenue bonds, series 2009E, at A-plus.
Moody’s rates the county Aa2 with a stable outlook.
“Miami-Dade County benefits from a large and dynamic economy that has experienced strong growth in recent years,” Moody’s said. “County operations are equally split between
The county has an “adequate” financial position, with reserves and liquidity generally better than others, the agency said. Its long-term liabilities are above sector medians and revenue growth and proactive budget management will mitigate its sizable capital needs, Moody’s added.
Moody’s gave a “highly negative” environmental rating to the county but said this was offset by a “positive” social rating and a “very positive” governmental rating.
Moody’s rates the non-ad valorum bonds Aa2.
The upgrade will save county taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in interest payments over the coming years, said Dominic Calabro, CEO and president of Florida Tax Watch.
The mayor of Miami-Dade County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.