In a reflection of continued strong fiscal stewardship, King County Executive Ron Sims today announced that $46.4 million in limited tax general obligation Bond Anticipation Notes (BANs) have been sold at competitive interest rates.

Proceeds of $20 million will be used to provide funding for the King County Courthouse seismic project and Nisqually earthquake repair, the Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center project, the demolition of the North Rehabilitation Facility, and to provide construction funding for the jail’s security and health projects. A separate BAN of approximately $26.4 million will be used as interim financing for open space acquisitions including the “Juanita Woods Acquisition Project” and the “Forestry and Nearshore Initiative Projects.”

The winning bids for both BANs were submitted by Piper Jaffray with yields of 1.79% for $20 million of Series A notes and 1.78% for $26.4 million of Series B notes.

Ratings agencies last week reaffirmed King County’s long-standing credit rating of “MIG 1” from Moody's Investors Service and “SP1+” for Standard and Poor’s. The county enjoys financial ratings in the top tier of counties across the nation, and better than the states of California, Oregon and Washington.

“Good credit starts with good management,” said Sims. “King County continues to maximize the power of the people’s money by running a tight fiscal ship. These rating institutions tell us we’re doing that job extremely well.”

The ratings agencies noted the county’s ability to follow sound fiscal principles in the face of economic recession, erratic sales tax revenues and a severely limited taxing authority. Moody’s pointed to the county’s success at keeping fund balances in step with revenues, “The county has been invariably successful at meeting this goal,” the report said.