November 29, 2023
By Rachel Scofield

Moody’s Investors Services raised the city of Pickerington’s credit rating to Aa1 which is the second highest of the company’s 21 rating levels.

It had been more than five years since the city was last evaluated.

“When we came up for reevaluation, our finances, economic base and tax base had all grown significantly in that time, plus the Columbus region in general is growing,” City Councilman Kevin Kemper said. “Add that to the city’s solid financial stewardship and the rating went up.”

Of all government entities in Fairfield County, Pickerington now has the highest rating.

 “Additionally, the city’s Aa1 rating puts us in the top tier of Central Ohio municipalities.  Combined with the lowest income tax in Central Ohio (1%), this demonstrates solid financial leadership,” said Pickerington City Manager Greg Butcher.

The higher rating correlates to lower borrowing costs.

“For large bond amounts, this translates to thousands of dollars in saved borrowing costs to Pickerington taxpayers,” Butcher said.

The last time the city issued bonds was in 2018 to purchase the 212-acre property at 8185 Pickerington Road. That bond has been paid off in its entirety.

Although currently Pickerington has no plans to issue more bonds, that may change as city leaders consider costly infrastructure expenditures.

“It is financially prudent to issue bonds for them even though the city has a strong cash position,” Butcher said.