City of New Britain

Office of Mayor Timothy Stewart

MEDIA RELEASE

September 1, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAYOR STEWART ANNOUCES FITCH RATINGS AFFIRMATION OF NEW BRITAIN’S OUTSTANDING GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AT ‘A’; OUTLOOK RAISED FROM STABLE TO POSITIVE

New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart today reported that the Fitch Group Reporting Service has affirmed the ‘A’ rating on the City of New Britain’s approximately $55.5 million of outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds and has raised the City’s outlook

from stable to positive.

“I am very pleased to report that the City of New Britain has once again achieved an ‘A’

rating on our existing general obligation bonds and that our outlook has been raised from

stable to positive.” Mayor Stewart said today. “This is another sign that , despite the very difficult financial times facing our nation and our state, the City of New Britain continues to maintain an excellent record for fiscal management.”

According to the latest report from Fitch Ratings, “The Rating Outlook on all outstanding bonds has been revised to Positive from Stable. The Positive Rating Outlook reflects a reduction of New Britain’s exposure to derivative products and variable-rate debt that in previous years Fitch noted as a potential source of budgetary pressure.

“The ‘A’ rating reflects New Britain’s adequate reserve levels that provide the city with a

modest amount of financial flexibility.”

Continuing the report states, “The city’s financial operations are stable and reserve levels

provide a modest amount of flexibility. Fiscal 2008 ended with a $2.3 million general fund surplus and fiscal 2009 is expected to end with approximately a $500,000 surplus, which would bring the unreserved general fund balance to about $10 million. The fiscal 2010 budget declined by approximately $2.5 million, or 1.2%, as officials limited spending across all departments to mitigate a challenging revenue-raising environment.”

“This is truly good news for the City of New Britain,” Stewart continued. “It proves that the efforts we have made in recent years to control spending and to improve the City’s financial situation are showing real results. The Fitch Report indicates that if the current trend continues, coupled with the maintenance of other credit

strengths, it could lead to a rating upgrade in the near future.

“Controlling spending and taxes has been my number one priority since becoming

mayor six years ago and this report is a clear indication that we are on the right track.

It is my intention to work even harder to maintain New Britain’s good credit rating which keeps down our debt service costs and allows continued tax relief for the citizens of New Britain,” Stewart concluded.

The Fitch Ratings is an international credit rating agency dual-headquartered in New York City and London. It was one of the three Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating
Organizations designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission together

with Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s.