ROCHELLE — The City of Rochelle recently held a bond rating call with Standard and Poor’s for an upcoming Electric System Alternate Revenue Source General Obligation Bond sale. The city's current bond rating of A+ was reaffirmed, a press release said.

“For a rural community our size this is an above average bond rating,” a press release said. “Some of the of the reasons for the reaffirmation of the current rating include: Strong management with good financial policies and practices, strong budgetary performance, very strong budget flexibility and very strong liquidity.”

“A strong credit rating is an important piece of our strategic plan,” City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said. “The ability to take advantage of lower interest rates and current construction costs to complete projects today will save our residents money in the long run.”

In the coming months, the City of Rochelle anticipates extending $18 million of Electric System Alternate Revenue Source General Obligation bonds to fund top priority electric infrastructure projects through the community. This transaction will not affect property tax rates as the bond payment will tie to electric revenues.