In response to the upgrade of the City of Surprise’s General Obligation (GO) bond rating by Standard and Poor's, the City Council has authorized the first-ever Decide Surprise bond sale.
Among factors that were considered for the upgrade were strong financial policy management and practices, low debt and adequate economy, as well as a sound budget strategy and overall stable performance.
“Surprise's budgetary flexibility is very strong, in our view, with an available fund balance in fiscal 2017 of 36 percent of operating expenditures, or $38.8 million," according to the S&P review. "We expect the available fund balance to remain above 30 percent of expenditures for the current and next fiscal years, which we view as a positive credit factor.”
The Decide Surprise Bond sale will be $40 million at maximum, which will be used as public safety, traffic-resolving policies, and pavement preservation funds. The other remaining bond, amounting to almost $20 million, is expected to be sold in 2020.