SUFFOLK
The massive black tour bus had five high-definition TVs and an interior that looked as if it was designed by someone who specializes in Gulfstream jets – because it was.
It also came from a local company, which made it even better for the mission at hand: impress the visiting bond rating agents.
In three tours late last week, city staff showed Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch all that’s changing in Suffolk. The goal: nudge the city’s bond rating upward and pay less on debt.
Such visits often happen only every few years. Portsmouth took advantage of the agencies’ Suffolk appointments to do its own tours last week, said Betty Burrell, the city’s chief financial officer. Chesapeake had gone five years, maybe longer, since its most recent tour this spring, Deputy City Manager Betty J. Meyer said.
Better bond ratings can mean big savings. When Standard & Poor’s upgraded Virginia Beach’s status last year, the city’s financial and debt service administrator said it could mean more than $500,000 on interest payments on $104 million in bonds selling at the time.
Barbara Ruth Rosenberg, a director for Fitch, said the Suffolk visit helped confirm the things city officials have been telling her.
“There’s a great deal of development going around,” she said.
Karl Jacob of Standard & Poor’s said the tax base appeared larger and more diverse than it did during his last visit, several years ago. The tour is only a piece of the ratings puzzle, he said, but it helps.
In the three-ring binders that accompanied the tours was a single sheet titled “Promises Made … Promises Kept.” It detailed continued improvements to city finances that staff members discussed with the agencies last fall on a visit to New York.
The itinerary in Suffolk covered a swath of public and private developments, including projects finished years ago and others still in the planning stages. One page touted the proposed Centerpoint Intermodal Park on Holland Road. The massive warehouse and distribution project has not been considered by the Planning Commission, which will vote before the plan goes to the City Council .
“Significant road and infrastructure improvements will accompany this project that’s currently in the preliminary planning stage,” the summary said.
The tours were not open to the media. The city’s financial adviser, Davenport & Co., paid for the bus, said David Rose, senior vice president.
“There are no secrets,” said Treasurer Ron Williams, who accompanied about seven city staff members on the trips. “It’s just very simply showing these people the city, and they seemed very pleased and impressed with everything that’s going on.”
The two Fitch representatives laughed when asked about the transportation . Rosenberg said it was a nice way to show off a local company.
“It was very comfortable,” ratings analyst Alexandra Knight said.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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The Show...
It is commendable that the City Administration would try to influence the powerbrokers in our favor, but this can’t be used as an excuse by some to call for more and more borrowing, as we have seen. We have been on a tear for the last several years to borrow tens of millions, with the expectation that they can get more and more from us to pay it back…
It is time for prudence and balance in spending and keeping a focus on what we need, rather than just want. Our bond-rating would rise much more if we concentrated on the delivery of “CORE SERVICES” to our citizens, rather than continue on with speculation and wasteful spending like the Hilton Garden Inn/Conference Center, the Cultural Center, the Obici Property, and so on. It is time to restore our local government to the service of the people, not special interests. Such fundamental recognition will raise the citizens rating of Suffolk Government, which is much more important that our Bond Rating…
Roger A. Leonard, MPA
Suffolk…
lipstick on a pig
lipstick on a pig...
5 years...
I have lived in Northern Suffolk for 5 years now and I love it. Fire and Police are wonderful, infrastructure is great, and the area is clean and green. This is just a wonderful place to live. I live in VB for 12 years before I moved here, and I would never go back to that city with the way it is now. Nothing good comes out of there. My only concern with Suffolk is the public school system as I have a 5 year old that starts kindergarten next year, but as Northern Suffolk grows I have all the faith that many improvements will be made to the schools here. If not there is always Nansemond-Suffolk Academy private school.
Taypayers are paying the bill. . .
Hello Taypayers of Suffolk. Your City Officals are sending your hard earned money to impress the higher ups for a better bond rating.
City Officals can not even balance the City's Budget. It's time these local officals are voted out of office. Citizens of Suffolk, "Wake Up and vote the current City Council out of office."
"It's NOT a good time to be in Suffolk."
Shouldn't Be A Problem For A Lower Rating
Suffolk is an older city with older infrastructure. North Suffolk/Harbor View is far newer. Luckily for Suffolk, they typically have only had to build to suit. That means they only add city services, fire and police as the population grows and within actual tax receipts. You won't hear of Suffolk being in a credit crunch. There is an equilibrium among the communities in Suffolk that can support a specific number of business and no more, not much less, from mom & pop groceries, to gas stations, and barber shops. Suffolk City continues to use the beloved old Market Street buildings as the core for local government, they keep themselves grounded, and do not wish to build Taj Mahals to themselves as an intimidation to their wealth-payers. We'd strongly consider moving there after Hall Place is revitalized, jobs are created for the idle and Suffolk has culled the number of slumlords.
Odd
Talk about a dog and pony show! Wonder if they rocked some Cramer on the televisions. I guess they didn't mention that the appraisals are all too high on the properties, and that Suffolk businesses and residents are forced to suffer with Charter Cablevision, with no access to Cox. That alone should get them B1 at best. They should be bribing Verizon to get some illegals out there ASAP and trench some FIOS into Hampton Roads next copy & paste, McMansion laced looped strip mall urban sprawl rerun.