Great Barrington — The Town of Great Barrington’s AAA bond rating has helped secure an interest rate of .979 percent on a $4,990,000 bond. The 20-year bond is for the financing of various capital projects.
S&P Global Ratings, a municipal bond credit rating agency, attributed the town’s AAA bond rating — the highest attainable — to the town’s strong economy, management, financial policies and practices, and strong liquidity, as well as its strong debt and contingent liability profile.
Town Treasurer Karen Fink and Finance Director Susan Carmel ushered the bidding process through to completion.
“Because the town is able to maintain its AAA bond rating in a pandemic, we had seven financial institutions bid on our bond,” said Carmel. “It was very competitive, and the town is very pleased with the below 1 percent interest rate.”
The bids for the bonds were accepted at the offices of the town’s financial advisor, Hilltop Securities Inc. in Boston.
