ATASCADERO — The City of Atascadero announced that the Fitch Ratings have raised the credit rating on Atascadero Community Development Agency’s (Atascadero Redevelopment Project) 2004 Tax Allocation Bonds (TABs) from ‘AA+’ to ‘AAA.’
Fitch Reported, “The upgrades reflect strengthened resilience due to growth in pledged revenues and closed liens given the dissolution of RDAs in 2011. In addition, Fitch expects solid to strong revenue growth as assessed valuations (AV) and related tax increment increase due to appreciation, new development, and/or property turnover resetting the AV to market value.”
According to Fitch, the key rating drivers impacting the rate change are pledged revenue growth, exceptionally strong resiliency, closed lien status due to redevelopment agency dissolution, tempered with moderate taxpayer concentration. This rating speaks to the City’s thoughtful planning, focus on economic development, good use of the City’s resources, and to the strength of our finances to keep us moving in the right direction.
Fitch reports, “Pledged tax revenues have increased above U.S. GDP and inflation at a 10-year CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 6.8 percent, supporting a ‘AAA’ assessment for growth prospects of pledged revenues.”
Fitch further indicates that the top 10 taxpayers are moderately concentrated and account for 17 percent of IV [incremental value]. This asymmetric risk is offset with the highly resilient structure and strong revenue growth prospects, supporting the overall ‘AAA’ rating.
“This is great news for the City of Atascadero. It is our Council’s commitment to fiscal stewardship and City staff’s follow-through on our strategic priorities that contribute to long-term financial stability,” said Mayor Heather Moreno.
For more information on the Fitch Ratings for Atascadero, visit fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/fitch-takes-various-rating-actions-on-california-redevelopment-agencies-29-06-2023 and for information for City Administrative Services, go to atascadero.org/adminservices.
