San Luis Obispo County is now looking very secure for bond investors. Fitch Ratings, one of the main three global ratings firms, has recently upgraded the county's general obligation (GO) bond rating from AA+ to AAA, the firm's highest rating.
Guy Savage, San Luis Obispo County's assistant administrative officer, says bonds from only two other California counties are rated at this level—San Diego and Marin. It's also the highest GO bond rating SLO County has ever received.
"First off, it shows that the financial policies that we've been pursuing over these last few years have proved to be the right moves to take," said Savage. "And hopefully, more importantly, if positions us in an extremely good position should we need to issue bonds or incur some sort of debt in the future."
Savage says the upgrade, in light of the recent recession, is a reflection of the county's fiscal policies and good working relationships.