Westchester County loses top AAA rating after downgrade

Despite its array of mansions and other areas of affluence, Westchester County, one of the richest suburbs in the country, saw its elite credit rating get cut by a pair of prominent ratings agencies, according to Bloomberg. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings both made the move after the county drew down on its cash reserves to cover raises retroactively given to government employees, the outlet reported. Westchester County saw both S&P and Fitch slash its AAA rating — the highest available — to AA+, while ratings industry rival Moody’s assigned a roughly equivalent Aa1 rating to the municipality. Westchester County Chief Executive George Latimer publicly acknowledged the “serious financial stress” facing the suburb, but said that hard decisions had to be made in order for the county to make its budget. Latimer vowed to get Westchester County back to AAA by the time he leaves office. [Bloomberg]