FREE NACo Webinars on Finance Compliance, Non-Tax Revenue, Child/Family Social Impacts and Strategic Planning

Every month the National Association of Counties (NACo) hosts webinars to provide county leaders and professionals with knowledge on best practices and hot topics in various areas. Join NACo for the following webinars in June: County Finance Transformation: Improve Efficiency, Productivity, and Compliance June 8th - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm REGISTRATION Overview - County government organizations face significant challenges, including budget constraints, changing regulations, and increasing demand for transparency and accountability.  These challenges can…

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Fitch Affirms AAA Credit Rating for Prince George’s Ahead of $239M Bond Sale

Fitch Ratings affirmed Prince George's County's AAA credit rating ahead of the County's upcoming competitive bond sale. The rating keeps borrowing costs low for capital projects and reflects the County's sound fiscal policies, prudent long-range planning, and economic stability. Fitch Ratings has assigned a AAA rating to the following Prince George's County general obligation (GO) bonds: $238,815,000 GO consolidated public improvement bonds series 2023A. The GOs are backed by the County's full faith and credit…

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Conduit Street Podcast — Debt Limit: Deal or No Deal?

On the latest episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson break down the latest on the high-stakes negotiations to avoid an unprecedented default on the nation's debt and explain why Maryland is especially vulnerable to federal budget cuts or austerity measures.

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Fitch Affirms Washington County’s AA+ Credit Rating Ahead of Bond Sale

Fitch Ratings assigned an AA+ rating to Washington County's 2023 series of public improvement bonds. The AA+ rating keeps borrowing costs low for capital projects and reflects the County's sound fiscal policies, prudent long-range planning, and robust economy. In addition, Fitch has affirmed the County's AA+ Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and the AA+ rating on approximately $152.1 million of outstanding GO bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable. On May 23, the County will sell $15.1…

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Baltimore City to Exclude Owner-Occupied Homes from Annual Tax Sale

For the third year, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott committed to withholding owner-occupied properties from the annual tax sale. "Baltimore's renaissance is at hand, but it cannot be a renaissance that displaces those who have been here through thick and thin," Mayor Scott said in his annual State of the City address. The tax sale process − or more specifically, the potential for a property to go to tax sale − presents a much-needed tool…

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Fitch Affirms Frederick’s AAA Credit Rating Ahead of Bond Sale

Fitch Ratings has assigned a AAA rating to the following Frederick County general obligation (GO) bonds: $101.620 million GO public facilities project bonds series 2023 In addition, Fitch affirmed the County's AAA Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and the AAA rating on outstanding GO bonds. The AAA ratings keep borrowing costs low for capital projects and reflect the County's sound fiscal policies, prudent long-range planning, and robust economy. On May 16, the County will sell the…

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EV Charging Infrastructure Grant Opportunity: MACo Webinar April 28, Applications Due May 30

A $700 million federal grant program is open for applications for governments seeking to develop charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. MACo is hosting a free online meeting next week to discuss the grant, with a partner who can help advise local governments on how this infrastructure can serve both your government and residents. General Grant Program Information The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program provides funding to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure and…

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Fitch Upgrades Anne Arundel County’s Credit Rating to AAA

Fitch Ratings upgraded Anne Arundel County's credit rating from AA to AAA. The upgrade marks the first time the County has received an AAA rating from Fitch Ratings, one of the three major credit rating agencies. The AAA rating applies to: General obligation (GO) bonds; $46.8 million special obligation bonds series 2014 $1.065 million tax increment refunding bonds series 2014 Issuer Default Rating (IDR) Credit ratings are indications of the likelihood of repayment by the…

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2023 Session: Recap and Wrap-Ups

Catch up on all of the latest outcomes of the 2023 Maryland General Assembly session with wrap-ups on important county-related bills in each policy area. In addition to the swearing-in of a new governor, comptroller, attorney general, and legislators alike, the 445th legislative session kicked off with more relaxed health and safety measures compared to the turbulence of the last few years. With the 2023 session in the books, it's time to take stock. As…

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2023 End of Session Wrap-Up: Finance and Procurement

The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo's work on finance and procurement policy in the 2023 General Assembly.  In addition to the swearing-in of a new governor, the 445th legislative session kicked off with more relaxed health and safety measures compared to the turbulence of the last few years. This enabled MACo's policy team to dynamically engage with private-sector stakeholders, legislators, and representatives from all levels of government. Under these more conventional circumstances,…

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