Hamilton County government has received the highest financial rating from all three major bond rating agencies - the only one among Tennessee's 95 counties to have the highest rating from Fitch, Moody's and Standard and Poor's rating services.

The AAA bond rating reflects the county's economic growth, financial stability and healthy reserve fund, according to agency reports.

"We believe in fiscal conservatism as the shepherds of the taxpayer's' dollars, because this is whose money we are in charge of," Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said in a statement today. "Obviously, this is working when you consider the number of companies that have chosen to invest or expand in this community and create good paying jobs that benefit their employees over the last few years."

Coppinger said 5,286 jobs have been created during his tenure so far.

"Strong financial reserves should continue to provide a cushion against potential revenue fluctuations, though tax base stability limits those occurrences," Standard and Poor's said in its bond rating. "We do not expect the rating to go down during the outlook period due to the county's sound management and strong financial position."

Fitch also cited Hamilton County's bright economic future in their report, "Fitch anticipates that recent commercial development will continue to diversify the county's economic profile over the next few years."