{"id":311047,"date":"2025-11-24T15:42:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T15:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/311047\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T15:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T15:42:08","slug":"bond-rating-agencies-praise-charlotte-despite-hefty-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/311047\/","title":{"rendered":"Bond rating agencies praise Charlotte despite hefty debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

The three major U.S. bond-rating agencies agree that Charlotte<\/a> is a well-managed economic powerhouse.<\/p>\n

In the past two months, Fitch, Standard & Poor\u2019s and Moody\u2019s reaffirmed the city\u2019s AAA bond rating ahead of its move to refinance<\/a> some existing debts.<\/p>\n

S&P Global<\/a> says it expects Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to \u201cexceed state and national metrics across gross county product, total employment, population and income over the next several years.\u201d<\/p>\n

It projects the city \u201ccan maintain better credit characteristics than the nation in a stress scenario,\u201d S&P said.<\/p>\n

Fitch<\/a> noted that the city\u2019s tax-rate increase for fiscal 2024-25 was its first since 2019, and that officials were able to balance the budget without dipping into reserves.<\/p>\n

The tax increase left Charlotteans facing a combined city-county tax burden<\/a> of 74.72 cents per $100 of assessed value. That translates into a $1,494 tax bill for the owner of a $200,000 house.<\/p>\n

In Raleigh, a home of similar value would have faced a $1,737 tax bill. Its assessment is 86.85 cents per $100. In Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, the assessment is about $1.40 per $100, according to the N.C. Department of Revenue.<\/p>\n

Charlotte\u2019s total general fund revenue increased 25% to $896 million between 2020 and 2025. Public safety expense made up 62% of Charlotte\u2019s general fund spending in 2024, even as officials said the police department had more than 150 vacancies. The 2026 budget is $943.5 million, a 5% increase.<\/p>\n

S&P noted that Charlotte\u2019s top 10 taxpayers held about 4.2% of total taxable value of property, reflecting its diversified economy.<\/p>\n

S&P and Moody\u2019s<\/a> cited what the latter termed the city\u2019s \u201cproactive management and long-range planning.\u201d\u00a0 The city is \u201cfocused on quality-of-life and service delivery improvements that we believe are inducing additional private economic development and population growth,\u201d S&P said.<\/p>\n

Fitch and S&P sounded cautionary notes about the city\u2019s debt burden. Fitch noted that Charlotte\u2019s ratio of debt carrying costs to governmental expenditures was an unusually high 32.4%.<\/p>\n

Charlotte has $1.8 billion in long-term debt, plus $1.1 billion in net pension liabilities, according to Fitch.<\/p>\n

Still, the city\u2019s net general fund balance of $235 million equated to 27% of spending, well above the city\u2019s target of 15%.<\/p>\n

The Fitch report noted that Atrium Health is Charlotte\u2019s largest employer, with 35,700 employees, while Wells Fargo has 24,000 employees, and Bank of America, 15,000.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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