Elk Grove Village retains AAA bond rating

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson gave himself, the village board and employees a pat on the back after announcing this week that Moody’s has renewed the village’s AAA bond rating based on how well officials have managed village finances during the economic downturn.

Johnson said Moody’s recently re-evaluated 166 communities that were given the highest bond rating and that “123 of them may not keep the AAA rating.”

“They are being reviewed even deeper,” Johnson said. “We passed. Moody’s reaffirmed our AAA rating. We are very proud of that. Everyone in Elk Grove should be proud of that. The federal government is getting downgraded. God knows what’s going to happen with the state, but in EG we were reaffirmed.”

Johnson credited the austerity measures undertaken by the village board over the past several years, including establishing a rainy-day fund and not raising the village’s portion of the property tax levy for four consecutive years.

Yearly village revenue has been down $6.25 million since the economic downturn began due to a drop in the number of building permits issued and sales tax revenues, and the state not paying monies owed to village, he said.

Meanwhile, officials have maintained core village services and community events, and consolidated village operations while avoiding layoffs, he said.

Johnson said he was proud of village employees voluntarily giving up raises over the last couple of years to help stabilize the village’s finances.

“We kept our community together,” he said. “We right-sized government. So at the height of this Great Recession, everything going on, we held our line on taxes, did what we were supposed to do.”