SUFFERN, NY – Ramapo Town Supervisor Michael Specht announced that Standard and Poor (S&P) Global Ratings, one of the nation’s leading credit rating agencies, assigned a long term, underlying credit rating of “A+” with a stable outlook to the Town of Ramapo, demonstrating a significant turnaround to the Town’s fiscal health.

The report stated that “After a finding of fraud by the SEC in 2017, Ramapo was faced with remaking its financial team and processes. In addition to rebuilding finances, the [Town’s] new management team worked to restore confidence in Ramapo’s overall reporting and transparency of financial information.”

The report went on to say the A+ rating reflects S&P’s assessment of Ramapo’s strong economy, an operating surplus in its general fund, and very strong liquidity. The A+ rating also comes at a time when most sectors of the nation’s economy received a downgrade due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are gratified that the hard work done by my administration over the past 3+ years and the resulting strong financial performance has been recognized by S&P,” said Town Supervisor Michael B. Specht. “An A+ credit rating will significantly and immediately reduce the Town’s borrowing costs and allow us to fund needed capital improvements.”

The town’s announcement comes just weeks after the Office of the New York State Comptroller released its annual list of Municipalities in Financial Stress. The Town of Ramapo was no longer included on the list as it had been in prior years.