City Receives AAA Rating from Standard & Poor’s, Bond Sale Yields Savings for Taxpayers

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings has reaffirmed the City of Portsmouth’s AAA bond rating, which measures the City’s ability to manage its credit. The City has maintained a AAA rating since 2013. S&P commented that “The 'AAA' long-term rating reflects Portsmouth’s recent history of positive budgetary results, which have enabled it to maintain healthy reserve balances…One of the leading economic hubs of the state, the city continues to experience local economic growth as a result of ongoing commercial development and expansion, coupled with a strong real estate market.”

In making the announcement, City Manager Karen Conard said, “I am proud to announce that thanks to careful and strategic management of the City’s finances, Standard and Poor’s has awarded its highest bond rating to the City of Portsmouth. Our continued AAA bond rating reflects staff’s capacity to implement and sustain sound financial policies, maintain a strong fund balance, and exercise prudent budget management. This approach combines conservative revenue forecasting with careful consideration of historical financial trends. Together, these practices support ongoing fiscal stability and ensure decisions are made with the City’s taxpayers’ best interests in mind.”

With the AAA rating in hand, the City has gone to market for the sale of City bonds to fund ongoing capital improvement projects detailed in the CIP. On April 14, 2026, the City received 17 competitive bids from bond underwriters for a $35.2 million, 20-year general obligation bond issue. BofA Securities was the winning bidder on the Bonds with an average interest rate of 3.456%. This bond issue included refinancing of bonds the City originally issued on June 25, 2014 and will save the City $417,600 over the remaining life of the refinanced bonds.

In awarding the AAA rating, S&P commented that the rating reflects “our view of the city's overall balanced financial operations over the past few years, coupled with nominally high reserve balances… [and its] robust and comprehensive financial management policies and practices that include conservative budgeting, long-term financial planning, a formal six-year CIP, and formal debt management, investment, and reserve policies.” S&P continued, “We believe the city’s comprehensive planning and budgeting practices, coupled with its strong tax base and financial flexibility, will continue to make this debt manageable and affordable.” 

Explaining why the City’s AAA bond rating is higher than that of the nation, S&P’s analysts said, “Portsmouth is eligible to be rated above the sovereign because we believe the city can maintain better credit characteristics than the nation in a stress scenario.”