Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's declaration of a financial
emergency will not warrant immediate rating action by Fitch Ratings. The
declaration follows a report by an independent task force stating that
Suffolk County (the county) could face a $530 million deficit by the end
2013.
Fitch has already incorporated the county's weakened financial condition
and heightened credit risk in its recent rating actions. Fitch revised
the Rating Outlook on the county's 'AA-' general obligation rating to
Negative from Stable last November. The Outlook revision followed a
Fitch downgrade to 'AA-' from 'AA' in December 2010.
Fitch will continue to monitor the county's financial position and
efforts by management to balance operations with recurring solutions
over the near term. Fitch will evaluate whether rating action is
appropriate as more clarity surrounding the county's future direction
develops.
Additional information is available at '
www.fitchratings.com'.
In addition to the sources of information identified in the
Tax-Supported Rating Criteria, this action was additionally informed by
information from CreditScope, University Financial Associates,
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, IHS Global Insight, Zillow.com and,
National Association of Realtors.
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
--'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 15, 2011);
--'U.S. Local Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 15, 2011).
Applicable Criteria and Related Research:
Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=648898
U.S. Local Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=648842
ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND
DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING
THIS LINK:
HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS.
IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE
AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE '
WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'.
PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS
SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS
OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF
THIS SITE.
Copyright Business Wire 2012
