The City of Lynn bond rating recently was upgraded by the Standard & Poors Global Rating system from an A- rating when I took office in 2018, to an A rating with a positive outlook. This rating upgrade reflects years of hard work by the City of Lynn Financial team in partnership with the Mayor and the Lynn City Council to return Lynn to stable financial footing.
The S&P Global Ratings Report notes that the rating revision is reflective of the City’s “ongoing positive operating results through the pandemic, supported by continued strengthening in its financial monitoring and budget development tools, leading to a growth in reserves.” The City’s reserve accounts have improved from $1 million available in 2018 to nearly $28 million available in 2021.
“I am extremely proud of the work we have done over the last 3 and a half years to get the City of Lynn in a more positive financial position,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “I want to thank our Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino, our City Department Heads and the Lynn City Council for their efforts to collaborate and drastically improve the financial outlook for the City of Lynn. It has been a challenge to arrive where we are today, however I am hopeful that given our current position, we will be able to make some significant investments in capital projects such as building a new Pickering Middle School.” The City has made drastic progress to build back towards a balanced budget since borrowing $14 million from the state in 2018 to cover operating expenses. Part of the immediate solution was hiring a full time CFO and implementing a robust and collaborative multi-month budget process. Lynn has benefited from a growing tax base in recent years with investments in redevelopment of the downtown and the waterfront and the creation of a Capital Investment Plan (CIP) in 2019. The goal of the CIP is to address the City’s infrastructure needs such as our schools and public buildings as well as investing in repairing roadways and sidewalks. The CIP will allow the City to perform long term financial planning, budget forecasting and identify the necessary improvement projects needed to improve the quality of life for Lynn residents