Factors include low unemployment, low debt burden Annapolis (March 22, 2010) - County Executive John R. Leopold announced today that the Wall Street firm Standard & Poor’s has awarded Anne Arundel County a AAA bond rating for the fourth consecutive year. "This Administration has reduced the size of government while not increasing taxes on property or income," County Executive Leopold said. "Cities, counties and states are seeing their bond ratings lowered. We are hopeful that the local economy and housing market will rebound." Moody’s Investors Service’s rating also stayed the same this year, continuing Anne Arundel County’s Aa1 rating. Fitch Ratings slightly downgraded the County from an AA+ rating to AA. All three rating firms noted the County’s low unemployment rate, small amount of debt and strong economic base as positives. Negatives included the use of reserves to offset significant declines in revenue from taxes on income and real estate transactions, as well as the limits on financial flexibility due to our property tax cap. Standard & Poor’s dates back 150 years and is a worldwide leader in financial market intelligence. "It is during tough economic times that governments really earn their credit rating, and Anne Arundel County has risen to the occasion during the current recession as evidenced by the maintenance of our AAA rating from Standard and Poor’s," County Executive Leopold said. | 
