Glen Cove gets upgraded credit rating from Moody's Investor Service
Glen Cove City Hall on Glen St. in Glen Cove. The city just received an upgrade in its credit rating from Moody's. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Moody’s Investor Service upgraded Glen Cove’s credit rating this month, continuing the city’s gradual trend of fiscal improvement.
Moody’s said the new rating, Baa1, “is reflective of structurally balanced budgets that have significantly grown reserves,” according to its report issued May 17. The upgrade will help the city receive better interest rates when it borrows money, officials said.
“This upgrade reflects a significant improvement in the city’s financial condition,” said Mike Piccirillo, the city’s controller, who added that the city's operating surpluses have totaled about $5 million across the past three years.
The city's year-to-year bottom line – improved from minus $5.4 million in 2020 to minus $545,000 at the end of the 2023 fiscal year, Piccirillo said during a phone interview. That total improved because the city has been accumulating a surplus from its operations budget during that span.
Last fall, the office of state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said Glen Cove was “susceptible” to financial stress, the best of three categories for localities in danger of budget problems.
The North Shore city received a fiscal stress score of 47.1 out of 100 for the 2022 fiscal year, with 100 representing maximum stress. To be removed from the list, municipalities must receive a score under 45.
Democratic City Councilwoman Marsha Silverman said that while the upgrade is beneficial for borrowing in the short term, she has concerns about long-term “headwinds” like necessary upgrades to the city’s water filtration systems that could cause fiscal stress.
“In the context of the bigger picture, I would say it gives Glen Cove almost a false sense of security,” Silverman said. “Yes, we’re better, but a D+ [grade instead of failing] isn’t something to truly celebrate.”
Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck said she was “pleased” with the upgrade, adding, in a written statement last week, that the city “is continuing to conservatively budget revenues and expenses while stabilizing taxes for our residents and our debt position continues to be manageable.”
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