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9/24/2014 Fitch Ratings I Press Release <br />is repaid within 10 years. <br />Capital needs are manageable and largely related to transportation and utility system improvements financed <br />from gas and sales tax revenues, impact fees, and user fees. No new debt issuance is anticipated over the <br />next five years. <br />The county participates in the Florida Retirement System (FRS), a cost-sharing multiple -employer plan. FRS is <br />relativelywell-funded with a funding ratio estimated at 79% as of June 30, 2013 using Fitch's more conservative <br />7% discount rate. The county's Iiabilitywith respect to employee pensions and OPEB approximated $9.6 million <br />in fiscal 2013 (government wide) or 5.9% of governmental spending. The county provides an explicit subsidyfor <br />OPEB exceeding the requirement of state law for employees hired on or after Feb. 1, 2006, and in 2008 <br />established a trust account with a reported fair value of $11.6 million in fiscal 2013. The county essentially <br />funds the full actuarial required contribution to OPEB. <br />STRONG COVERAGE ON SPRING TRAINING BONDS <br />Fiscal 2013 pledged revenues totaled $7.7 million and included $6.7 million from the pledged portion of the <br />county's local government half -cent sales tax, $436,756 in TDT revenue, and $500,004 from the state's <br />allocation. Coverage of MADS ($1.23 million) was a strong 6.2x. <br />The half -cent sales tax and TDT revenue streams continue to perform relatively well. Annual sales tax and TDT <br />receipts improved 5.6% and 8.5%, respectively, in fiscal 2013 from the prior year. Through the first nine months <br />of fiscal 2014 collections are up 4.8% for the half -cent sales tax and 9.6% for the TDT. This revenue could be <br />reduced by almost 90% from the projected fiscal 2013 receipts before coverage would be less than 1.0x(this <br />analysis assumes collection of the $500,004 state payment). <br />Leveraging risk is considered low despite the strong coverage, as surplus revenue from the half -cent sales tax <br />is used to fund general operations of the county. The county has stated it has no plans to issue additional debt <br />secured by either of these special taxes. <br />The state payment represents a fixed sum payable to the countypursuant to Florida Statute 288.1162 and the <br />county's certification by the state as a retained spring training franchise. Following the release of the half -cent <br />sales tax and TDT pledge bondholders will be secured only by the state payments; MADS will decline to <br />$499,750 resulting in 1.0x coverage. <br />NARROW LTGO COVERAGE <br />In fiscal 2015 the countywill levy 0.3694 mills of the ma'dmum pledged 0.5 mills to pay debt service on its <br />limited GO bonds. The maximum levy of 0.5 mills would generate approximately 1.38x coverage of MADS <br />based on fiscal 2015 taxable assessed value (TAV) of $13.4 billion and a 95% collection rate (actual current <br />collections continue to exceed 96%). Fitch calculates current TAV could decline by31% before the maximum <br />pledged millage rate would fail to cover MADS by at least 1.0x <br />The county's TAV increased for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2015, increasing by4.5% following a 1.4% <br />increase in 2014, possibly signaling stabilization. Although TAV has begun to exhibit signs of recovery, the <br />county's fiscal 2015 TAV remains 27.6% below the peak value of $18.6 billion in fiscal 2008. <br />Contact: <br />PrimaryAnalyst <br />Andrew Hoffman <br />Analyst <br />+1-212-908-0527 <br />Fitch Ratings, Inc. <br />33 Whitehall Street <br />New York, NY 10004 <br />Secondary Analyst <br />Michael Rinaldi <br />https://www.fitchrating s.cornicreditdesWpress_releases/detaiI.ctrn?print=1&pr_id=881294 3/4 <br />15 <br />