Farmingville, NY – – Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine and Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico today announced that Moody's Investors Service has assigned the Town of Brookhaven a Aaa Stable rating. This is the fifth consecutive year Brookhaven has received a Aaa rating from Moody’s – which is the highest rating the Wall Street rating agency offers.
According to Moody’s, the Aaa issuer rating “reflects the town's stable financial operations with healthy reserve levels and strong economic profile, including conservatively balanced budgets, ample reserves and liquidity, and a large tax base with institutional presence.
Moody’s noted that the Town’s economic base continues to expand with “multiple ongoing development projects.” The report also stated that the Town benefits from “strong fiscal management and ample reserves and liquidity” and the Town’s stable outlook reflects the expectation that reserves and liquidity will remain sound.
In addition to recognizing Brookhaven’s strong current financial strength, the rating agency cited the Town’s long-range planning for the future. At the end of 2021 the Town had nearly $19 million in restricted reserves for post-closure costs associated with the landfill, and the Town transferred approximately $32 million to the capital fund and debt service fund in 2021 further supporting the town's financial flexibility.
Town expenses were also under budget, despite inflation and recently settled collective bargaining agreements. The 2023 budget is conservatively balanced with no use of fund balance to support operations in any of the seven major funds.
Supervisor Romaine said, “The Town’s Aaa, stable bond rating is a direct result of our strong commitment to the Brookhaven Town taxpayer and a conservative fiscal management approach. The Town’s financial team has kept us on a steady course, and I expect our fiscal position to remain strong in the future. Thanks to Commissioner of Finance Tamara Branson and her staff, Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico, the Town Board and every department manager for working to save millions of taxpayer dollars.”
Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico said, “The reaffirmation of Brookhaven’s Aaa bond rating by Moody’s is a testament to the diligence of this administration, in cooperation and collaboration with a Town Board that is unified in purpose. As the Deputy Supervisor, and elected Councilman, for a Town of nearly 500,000 residents, which is geographically larger than Nassau County, I can say assuredly that our fiscal health is a credit to the active daily management of our team and the continued recognition that we must seek pragmatic solutions to issues, not political ones. I thank them all for their work on behalf of our residents.”
Town of Brookhaven Finance Liaison, Councilwoman Jane Bonner said, “For more than a decade, the Town’s financial position has been gaining strength. As a result, we have maintained our Aaa bond rating despite the downturn in the economy. I am proud to work with Supervisor Romaine, Deputy Supervisor Panico our financial team at Town Hall and my colleagues on the Town Board to assure that we continue to spend wisely and always have a sharp eye on the bottom line.”