Chester receives an 'A' rating from Standard and Poor's

Chester, PA – During one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history, with the recent announcement of the U.S. receiving a downgraded credit rating, Mayor Wendell N. Butler is proud to announce that the City of Chester has received an A rating from Standard & Poor’s, a major international financial ratings agency.  

As a result of the city’s successful economic development work over the last decade, the A rating signifies that Chester has a stable financial condition and demonstrates a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. “This is the result of years of hard work, day in and day out, on all the little things that help balance a budget,” said Mayor Wendell N Butler, Jr. 

 It is during economic times like this that it becomes imperative for governments to redouble their efforts in evaluating their challenged revenue streams against the ever increasing costs of providing critical services to the public. For this reason, the city has worked over the past decade to bring new sources of revenue, like Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack, into the city. The ability to do so during such hard economic times in our nation is nothing short of extraordinary. 

“I want to make special note of the hard work of Councilman Shepard Garner and his staff on the difficult task of keeping our financial house in order as this rating is confirmation of the success of that effort,” said Mayor Butler. 

According to S&P, credit ratings are forward looking opinions about credit risk.  This rating expresses S&P’s opinion about the ability and willingness of Chester City government to meet its financial obligations going forward. Over the years credit ratings have achieved wide investor acceptance as convenient tools for differentiating credit quality. In addition to its confirmation of Chester’s stable financial condition, the A rating will result in lower borrowing costs for the City.