City News

As part of the City of Tuscaloosa's bond pursuance plan, presented and approved by the city council on Sept. 1, rating actions were requested from Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investor Service.

Fitch and Moody's have both reaffirmed their ratings of AAA and Aa1, respectively, with stable outlook.

"The city's financial profile remains sound and well managed. The city has a long history of maintaining structurally balanced operations, benefiting from conservative budgeting and careful expenditure management," the Fitch commentary said. 

Fitch praised the city's demonstrated ability to maintain healthy financial flexibility, especially in the midst of a pandemic, noting the city's proactive management in "addressing revenue pressures due to the current downturn."

Likewise, Moody's noted the City's conservative budgeting and adequate reserves that were maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Fiscal 2020 operations are expected to end strong, however the fiscal 2021 budget is projecting a decline caused by reduced sales taxes due to the pandemic. Positively, the city's financial management team is very active in its operations and reserves will remain in compliance with its policies," the Moody's credit opinion said.

"Fitch and Moody's confirmed what we already knew - the City of Tuscaloosa is resilient, and our staff is dedicated to maintaining the financial stability, strength and responsibility on behalf of the people of Tuscaloosa," Mayor Walt Maddox said. 

The credit opinions can be viewed in their entirety on FitchRatings.com and Moodys.com.