This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After meeting Friday with representatives from the nation's three major bond-rating agencies, Gov. Gary Herbert said he has no doubt that Utah will maintain its Triple-A bond rating.
"Wall Street appreciates that, in Utah, we're good stewards of taxpayer resources, we don't borrow or use federal funds to cover ongoing expenses, and we don't abuse our bonding authority to bankroll projects we can't afford long-term," Herbert said in a statement. "Utah is — and will continue to be — one of the safest places for investors."
The periodic meetings with the ratings agencies are routine, although one of the agencies, Standard & Poor's, recently downgraded United States Treasury bonds, and the outlook for numerous other local government bonds has been adjusted as a result of the lingering economic crisis.
A good bond rating is essentially the same as a solid credit rating and allows governments to borrow money for things like road projects and other construction projects that use long-term financing at a lower interest rate.
Robert Gehrke