Photo by Mason Callejas
When City Manager Rick Horst estimated Maricopa taxpayers would save up to $1.5 million by refinancing its Copper Sky bonds in June, he was a bit short.
The $9.9 million in bonds received over $19 million in orders, the City announced today, resulting in interest savings of $1.8 million in secondary property taxes.
“To get bond upgrades, a bidding war on our bonds, a quick sale with higher than anticipated returns, all during the COVID-19 crisis speaks tremendously to the fact that something special is happening here in Maricopa and the rest of the country is starting to see that,” Horst said.
The City received bond-rating upgrades from three agencies and had interest rates in its favor. The general obligation bonds are paying off the construction of the regional park.
Standard & Poor’s Global raised the City’s bond rating to AA from AA-.
“The raised rating reflects our view of the city’s improved budgetary performance and maintenance of very strong available reserves,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst David Mares.
Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the City of Maricopa general obligation bonds to AA2 from AA3, the second upgrade in less than 10 months.
“The upgrade to AA2 reflects continued material improvement in the city’s tax base, fostered by rapid development and population growth. The city is well positioned to weather the impacts of coronavirus and impending recession, having demonstrated its management strength and financial flexibility through the last recession when reserve levels remained above 70%,” according to the news release published by Moody’s.
Fitch Ratings assigned a AAA rating to the City of Maricopa, their highest score.
The rating “reflects the city’s sound fiscal performance and conservative budget practices, which have maintained a strong degree of financial flexibility,” Fitch shared in its news release regarding the rating.

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