Moody's downgrades Dallas' debt rating again, blaming city's pension woes
Credit ratings agency Moody's knows Dallas city leaders are working to find fixes for the troubled Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund as they stare down a multibillion-dollar funding hole.
But the agency still saw too much risk and downgraded $1.6 billion worth of the city's general obligation bonds Friday to AA3 from AA2. Moody's also changed the outlook to negative on both the city's debt and Dallas Water Utilities' debt, fearing an indirect financial hit on that department.
The change "reflects the challenging and complex landscape that the city must navigate to rein-in its growing pension predicament," according to Moody's report.
The downgrade came a week after fellow credit ratings agency Fitch lowered its rating of the city's debt. The bond rating could potentially affect the interest rates that taxpayers pay on any new debt the city issues.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas-city-hall/2016/10/15/moodys-downgrades-dallas-debtrating-blamingcitys-pension-woes
