S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed Newtown’s credit rating as AAA, with a stable outlook. The town received a report from S&P recently, which lauded the town for its “well-embedded financial management practices.”

S&P Global Ratings is an American credit rating agency and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities.

“Our view of Newtown’s management environment remains very strong,” the report states. It goes on to highlight Newtown’s “affluence,” “strong budgetary performance and reserve levels due to strict adherence to conservative management practices,” policies and practices “including budget monitoring, long-term planning, and comprehensive financial policies,” and “very strong debt and liability profile.”

In qualifying its outlook for the community’s future as stable, S&P “reflects our expectation that Newtown will continue to produce at least break-even operating results.”

Key credit metrics show Newtown has a “very strong economy,” “strong budgetary performance,” “strong budgetary flexibility,” “very strong liquidity,” “very strong management,” “very strong debt and long-term liabilities,” and “strong institutional framework.”

Finance Director Bob Tait recalled the town was first upgraded from a AA+ to AAA rating in 2014, making the latest AAA affirmation the ninth the town has consecutively received.

Tait credited the fact that the town doesn’t use one-time revenues for operational expenses, which “gets some towns into trouble.” The finance director believes the town’s policies and practices around fund balance, debt service, and the capital improvement plan work in the town’s favor.

“We continue to do what we’ve been doing,” said Tait. “With our policies and conservative budgeting, we expected this.”

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said the process of working with S&P Global for the town’s rating is “always easier” due to the large amount of advance work that Tait and Deputy Director of Economic Development Christal Preszler do each year.

“S&P is always complimentary of the work we get done beforehand,” said Rosenthal. “That means they can focus on the view from 30,000 feet in the phone interview.”

Rosenthal said he was happy to see the town’s credit rating reaffirmed.

“I think the rating is a recognition of the collective effort of all the town’s financial planning,” said Rosenthal. “The faces and names change on the boards, but the commitment to doing the right thing from a financial standpoint is always there. It’s nice to see that recognized.”

The town also learns what it needs to focus on through questions from the S&P representatives, according to Rosenthal. This year, he said there were a lot of questions around cyber security and extreme weather.

“Though not a surprise [that S&P asked about them], it gives us a little window on if we have our ducks in a row on those things,” said Rosenthal. “It also shows that they consider a lot of things in looking at the town’s fiscal health, not just revenues and spending.”

Board of Finance Chairman John Madzula II credited Finance Director Bob Tait, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, as well as the town’s boards and commissions for the credit rating, and the “best practices instilled” in the town.

“This is another positive, that we’ve always strived for,” Madzula said.

Madzula said that the town’s practice of keeping its fund balance around 12 percent instead of the ten percent carried by most other towns gives the town “the extra money to be malleable and make different transfers.”

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.