JASPER, Tenn. - If Marion County needs to borrow money for a large project, officials will have an easier time doing it, thanks to an upgraded bond rating from Moody's Investors Service in New York.
At the Marion County Commission's March meeting, County Mayor David Jackson said the upgrade to a AA3 status was "excellent news."
Marion was upgraded to an A1 bond rating in 2014 after the county refinanced two bonds, saving about $3 million over the term of the loans.
County leaders were informed late last month that Marion had been upgraded again, which Jackson described as "strong for a county our size."
"It means better borrowing power and lower rates when we go out to do bonds on capital outlays," he said. "This is big. We're right there knocking on the doorsteps of where Hamilton County's stuff is at."
Moody's report cited Marion's credit strengths as a stable tax base, a strong commercial presence, positive-trend funding reserves and a conservative budget.
The county's credit challenge was identified as below-average wealth and income levels.
"They [Moody's] expect us to see modest growth in residential and commercial development," Jackson said. "We've got a lot of houses being built throughout the county. Our building inspector is staying very busy keeping up with the permits and stuff we've been issuing."
The county's rural tax base is $2.4 billion, he said.
In their recent meeting with Moody's, county officials promoted the growth of local industries such as Valmont, Colonial Chemical, Lodge Manufacturing and U.S. Stove.
Jackson said that growth does not only help current commercial businesses, but encourages new industry to locate in Marion.
"This is a strong reflection on the leadership of Marion County - the county elected officials and [the Marion County Commission]," he told the board. "You folks are the ones that set the budget. You oversee what the expenditures are, and without [the board's] leadership and the other elected officials, we would not be where we're at today. This is exciting news for Marion County."
Commissioner Tommy Thompson said he is happy with the new bond rating, but "let's hope we don't have to go out and borrow any money."
OTHER BUSINESS
The board unanimously approved a resolution to implement a 10 percent penalty on delinquent tax parcels.
When Marion holds tax sales, County Attorney Billy Gouger said, there are various expenses that the county has to pay typically exceed what it has on hand to pay them.
"What happens is all of [Marion's] taxpayers wind up footing the bill for the parcels that are delinquent," he said. "What this does is shifts that burden over to the delinquent taxpayers as opposed to those that are paying their taxes on time."
By statute, the added fees can be used only to cover expenses incurred by the prosecution of the delinquent tax lawsuit.
"We're one of the few counties, apparently, that doesn't do that," Gouger said. "We've never opted into it."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.