Fishers has boasted about its AAA debt rating from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) for the past several years.  Now, Hamilton County says it is the only county in Indiana to reach the AAA debt rating.

Here is how it is described in a county news release issued Monday:

“S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term rating to ‘AAA’ from ‘AA+’ on Hamilton County’s existing general obligation bonds (GO) and its lease debt not subject to annual appropriation. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned its ‘AAA’ long-term rating to the county’s 2021 general obligation refunding and project bonds, with a preliminary par amount of $38.61 million. The outlook is stable.”

Taxpayers benefit because it allows local governments to borrow money at a lower interest rate.

“This rating saves our residents money, by providing a lower cost of borrowing to finance capital projects. This also makes the county more attractive to businesses and signals a sound and stable economic climate,” says Mark Heirbrandt, president of the Hamilton County Commissioners. “It certainly speaks to the hard work and teamwork of our county commissioners, county council, and finance team over the past three months.”

S&P noted that the county is seeing increased population and commercial growth, contributing to the AAA designation.