Bergen County Commissioner Thomas Sullivan released the following statement:

I am happy to welcome some good news for the start of 2021. The hard work that the Bergen County Board of Commissioners, in conjunction with the Executive Branch, has done to maintain fiscal responsibility for our taxpayers and residents has once again paid dividends (no pun intended).
On January 12, 2021, Moody’s Investors Service assigned the rating of AAA to Bergen County’s Bond Obligation and Refunding Bonds. Moody’s also maintains AAA ratings on the county’s outstanding general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) debt. Moody’s classified Bergen County as “stable.”

Moody’s went on to assess: “Bergen County is amongst the harder hit by the pandemic. Favorably, the county received a substantial amount of CARES Act funds and took strong budgetary action to address these issues; despite non tax revenues being down for 2020, the CARES Act reimbursements coupled with lower expenditures means the county’s finances should remain stable. While the county’s finances will be negatively impacted by the pandemic, they will remain resilient and will recover rapidly.”

I take tremendous pride in the work this Commissioner Board has done to either maintain or improve the fiscal health of our county. When I joined the Board in conjunction with a new administration under County Executive James Tedesco, the county’s financial health was on shaky ground. Since then, Bergen County has achieved the highest marks from ratings agencies and is now in a considerably improved financial position. Despite the challenges we are facing, this continued high rating is a testament to the decision making of this Commissioner Board and Administration. I’d like to recognize and thank County Treasurer Joseph Luppino and his team for their outstanding work.

As always, we are BERGEN COUNTY STRONG.