East Whiteland Bonds Rated Aa2 by Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday assigned an Aa2 rating to 2012 bond series. The roughly $9 million in bonds is expected to be available for sale on April 13, 2012.

The rating is the third-highest on Moody's scale, behind Aaa and Aa1:

Aaa Aa A Baa Ba B Caa Ca C

Moody's appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa.

In its rationale, Moody's balanced the township's strong corporate presence and reserves with uncertainty in crucial revenue streams:

The Aa2 rating incorporates strong financial management leading to stable operations in spite of volatility in unpredictable revenue sources. Reserves are very healthy and the town's budgets are balanced. The rating also reflects a very small debt burden and a strong, suburban tax base anchored by a significant corporate presence.

Virginia McMichael, chairwoman of the township Board of Supervisors, described the rating as a great achievement.

"We’ve had boom times and tough times in East Whiteland in my 12 years on the board. We’ve had the good sense ... to rein in spending in good and tough times so we have a substantial reserve, and that's one of the things Moody’s looked at in evaluating our fiscal soundness. We're not living paycheck to paycheck, as they say," McMichael said.

"It also is a testament to fact that we have run a service-oriented township, and that has enabled us to maintain strong ties to the business community.  And that is an essential piece of econ responsibility."