Laserfiche WebLink
Essex (County of) <br />Primary Credit A nalyst: <br />Bhavini Patel, CFA <br />AA- /Stable /— <br />Toronto <br />(1) 416- 507 -2558 <br />bhavini_patelg <br />standardandpoors.com <br />Secondary Credit Analyst.- <br />Major Rating Factors <br />Stephen Ogilvie <br />Toronto <br />(1) 416- 507 -2524 <br />Strengths: <br />stephen_og i lvieg <br />■ Low and declining debt on a stand -alone basis <br />standardandpoors.com <br />■ Healthy liquidity <br />■ Stable budgetary performance <br />Weaknesses: <br />• Credit profile that debt issuance at the lower -tier municipal level affects <br />• Low economic diversification <br />Rationale <br />The ratings on the County of Essex, in the Province of Ontario (AA/Stable /A -1 +) , reflect low <br />and declining debt on a stand -alone basis, healthy liquidity, and stable budgetary performance. <br />In Standard & Poor 's Ratings Services' opinion, offsetting these strengths are a credit profile <br />that is affected by the debt issuance of the lower -tier member municipalities and a relatively <br />less diverse economy compared with those of domestic peers. <br />County debt levels on a stand -alone basis are relatively low compared to similarly rated <br />peers, both domestically and internationally. At fiscal year -end Dec. 31, 2007, direct debt <br />RatingsDirect represented 34% of operating revenue. With no further forecast debt issuance in the next three <br />Publication Date years, we expect Essex's debt levels to gradually decline to less than 25% of operating revenue <br />Dec. 1, 2008 by 2011, lower than the median of similarly rated Canadian peers. <br />