Strong fiscal controls coupled with a large, diverse tax base landed New York State’s second most populous township its second triple-A credit rating.
Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Town of Brookhaven on Long Island to Aaa from Aa1 with a stable outlook last week, citing conservatively balanced budgets, sound reserves and formal fund balance polices. The new Moody’s mark puts Brookhaven in line with S&P Global Ratings' AAA rating. Brookhaven is not rated by Fitch Ratings.
“The financial position will remain sound for the near-term driven by conservative budgeting and strong fiscal management,” Moody’s analyst Robert Weber wrote in a Sept. 4 report. “The stable outlook reflects the expectation that reserves and liquidity will remain sound.”
Weber noted that Brookhaven is additionally bolstered by a large tax base of $53.6 billion as of 2019 with a “significant” institutional presence that includes Stony Brook University, Stony Brook Medical Center and the Brookhaven National Laboratory as its three largest employers. He said the higher rating also accounts for expectations that Brookhaven officials are effectively managing the recent closure of the town’s landfill with plans to mitigate lost revenues.
Brookhaven has an “above-average debt burden”, but Weber said it will likely remain management because of the town’s ongoing tax base expansion and conservative budgeting. The town is anticipating continuing to issue bonds for various capital projects with a policy to pay off debt within 11 years, according to Weber.
“Both Moody’s and S&P Global agree that Brookhaven Town is on solid financial ground and on the right course for the future,” Town Supervisor Ed Romaine said in a statement. “Through strong management and strategic planning, we have been able to provide our residents with stable taxes, expanded services and provide a blueprint for the future that Wall Street agrees is well funded.”
Brookhaven encompasses 259 square miles in Suffolk County and with a 2017 estimated population of 487,731 it the second most populated township in New York exceeded only by the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County. It is situated about 50 miles east of Manhattan and is the largest of New York’s 32 townships when factoring in land and water.
