Good News

I don't know much about Bond ratings and the A vs. AA vs. Doubleplusgood A makes no sense to me. However, the good news is that, apparently, Mesa's bond rating has improved. People seem awfully excited about it, so it must be the first time in awhile. What it means for us is the potential in reduced interest payments and more money for the stuff that the taxes are actually supposed to pay for. How much? It doesn't say, but at least it seems to be moving in the right direction. Plus, this could have a positive impact on any bonds that may be brought to the voters in November.

However, I don't think that City leaders should see this improvement as a mandate for $400 million in bonds. First, bond ratings are the sort of thing that you have to point to the voters and say "trust me this is good" because the large majority don't know what it means. Second, the economy is bad, so saying that Mesa got a better credit card rate doesn't mean that people think the city should go on a spending spree. Finally, I still have yet to really hear anything about the bonds. Someone just sent this link to me not to long ago with all the bond info. Really, there is a bond election already - I didn't know anyone had called it? How many months has it been since they did the community outreach and 2 people showed up? I understand that the Mesa City Council is "contemplating" it, but its probably about time they started asking the community to think about it as well.