City's Credit Is Tops

Beverly Hills received a AAA bond rating from credit agency Standard & Poor's, affirming it as one of the nation's most fiscally responsible and credit-worthy cities.

"The credit rating will help us get better long term financing at low interest rates," said Noel Marquis, assistant director of finance for Beverly Hills. "We will end up saving a lot of money because of this."

The AAA bond rating places Beverly Hills among 169 U.S. municipalities to receive this honor. It is one of 25 California cities to make the grade. 

Cites earning the top ranking "almost uniformly share key attributes, such as low unemployment rates and above-average to well-above-average wealth levels," according to the Standard & Poor report.

Cheryl Burnett, the city's communications manager, said the actual amount saved is tough to estimate because it depends on the city's financing needs.

"An even slight downgrade in rating can result in an increase of hundreds of thousands of dollars or more over the life of a bond," Burnett wrote in an email. "This would dramatically impact our ability to provide services and programs cost-effectively."

Marquis said the rating is especially significant given the overall economic climate.

"The economy has impacted Beverly Hills just like other many other cities," he said. "There are fewer people occupying hotels, fewer shoppers than before, and our revenues are lesser than the operating costs."

The money saved from low-interest loans—a result of the AAA rating—frees up revenue to invest in projects where budgets were slashed during the recent economic downturn. "The better the credit rating of a city, the more are the opportunities for spending in a lot different areas," Marquis said.