Moody’s Investors Services has maintained the town’s Aa2 rating on $160.9 million of outstanding debt and has assigned the same rating to $30 million in GO bonds.

Moody’s has also assigned a MIG1 (Municipal Investment Grade 1) rating on $676,622 in township short-term bonds and notes.

The company's Aa2 rating is assigned to obligors who are "judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk."

It is their third highest rating on long-term debt. The MIG1 rating is the highest rating of short-term municipal debt.

In a rating document, the company cited "demonstrated success in cutting expenses" as a financial strength.

The company's workforce is down significantly over a decade ago, and the current township council has proposed cutting additional positions in town.

Officials say the positive ratings will help increase market access when issuing bonds and notes and will lead to lowered borrowing costs.

"Just like a citizen who gets lower APR on credit cards for their strong credit rating, the township will get lower borrowing costs when we need to issue bonds and notes for projects and operations," said Business Administrator Scott Pezarras, in an e-mail.

In a statement, Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis say the ratings "show the continued financial strength of the municipal government."

“Moody’s recognizes the steps we have taken to cut expenses and acknowledges they are working," said Acropolis. "These include reducing the size of the workforce, negotiating labor agreements that are more affordable for taxpayers and creating revenue streams." 

"They don’t concern themselves with headlines or what is being said in online forums," Acropolis said. "They concern themselves with the facts and the finances. They look at us through the eyes of investors and these ratings show that they think we are doing a good job."

Upcoming capital projects for which the township is expcted to issue bonds or notes include the switch to automated recycling collection, regular road improvements and bulkhead improvements.

Under state law, municipalities may not borrow the support their operating budgets.