Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino and the Town Board proudly announced that the Town of Oyster Bay recently received its seventh credit rating increase, this time a two-notch upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service. The Wall Street agency has assigned the Town an A1 rating, in which they lauded ‘continued improvements to the Town’s financial position’ while also crediting the Town Board for improved budget and cost cutting, stating that ‘governance is a key driver of this action.’

 

“Wall Street continues to recognize our ongoing commitment and success in repairing and maintaining the Town’s financial position,” said Supervisor Saladino. “My administration has made great strides in restoring fiscal integrity by restricting spending, paying down debt and protecting our taxpayers. This seventh Wall Street credit rating upgrade will save residents real money as the Town will pay significantly less money in interest expenses when bonding for road repaving, park improvements and other critical infrastructure work.”

 

This recent credit rating upgrade marks the seventh credit rating increase Supervisor Saladino and his administration have received since taking office in 2017. In this short period of time, the Supervisor and Town Board have cut property taxes while reducing debt and the operational budget deficit. Since implementing their first tax cut for 2018, the subsequent four budgets – in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 – sustained the $1.3 million property tax cut through a plan that successfully froze taxes. As a result, $6.5 million is in the pockets of taxpayers rather than the coffers of government.  Total Town debt has also declined, from a high of $763 million to $576 million at the beginning of 2022, bringing the administration’s five-year cumulative debt reduction to a grand total of $187 million.

 

Earlier this summer, independently-audited financial results indicated that Supervisor Saladino and the Town Board produced a budgetary surplus of $14.6 million in 2021, the fifth straight surplus under this governing board. As a result, the Town of Oyster Bay now has $62.2 million in reserves – the highest level ever.