Erie County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz announced that Erie County received a two-step increase to its credit rating from Wall Street rating agency Fitch Ratings. Fitch recalibrated the County's underlying credit rating from BBB+ to A on April 30, 2010.

The upgrade is part of Fitch's recalibration of its municipal ratings to its global rating scale and it follows the April 16, 2010 recalibration by Moody's of the County's credit rating from Baa2 to A2, a three-step increase. As described by Fitch in its March 25, 2010 announcement of the recalibration process, the recalibration of municipal ratings is part of a process in which "the aspiration is for Fitch's ratings to demonstrate broadly comparable levels of default patterns over long periods."

"I am delighted to report this positive news to the taxpayers of Erie County. Rating agencies used to penalize municipalities by keeping them at a lower credit rating compared to the private sector. This was the case even though municipalities very rarely defaulted on their debts, unlike many private sector entities. This recalibration will save all taxpayers money in that the County will be able to obtain better interest rates when it goes to market, thereby resulting in less cost in the long run. I commend Fitch for righting a decades-long wrong that cost taxpayers through higher interest rates and fees," stated Poloncarz.

The Comptroller noted that as a result of the recalibration, the County's credit rating is not only in the "A" category but is much closer to that of the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority ("ECFSA"), which was recalibrated upward only one step. The County's underlying rating (A) in now within four steps of the ECFSA's rating (AA+), whereas it was five steps lower beforehand (BBB+ compared to AA).