Unicoi County, TN 'AA-' Rating Affirmed, Off CreditWatch; Outlook Revised To Negative On Possible Slow Economic Recovery
CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 14, 2025--S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'AA-' long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Unicoi County, Tenn.'s general obligation (GO) debt and removed the rating from CreditWatch with negative implications, where S&P Global Ratings placed it on Oct. 15, 2024, and revised the outlook to negative from stable.
The outlook revision reflects our view that the county's economy could be slow to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which we think could weaken its long-term fiscal profile relative to 'AA-' rated peers.
The rating reflects the application of its criteria, "Methodology For Rating U.S. Governments," published Sept. 9, 2024, on RatingsDirect.
"There is at least a one-in-three chance we could lower the rating during the next two years if the county's property tax base and economic conditions were to weaken for a prolonged period following the hurricane, leading to financial deterioration relative to similar-rated peers," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Benjamin Gallovic. "However, we could revise the outlook to stable if rebuilding efforts were to proceed at a healthy pace, leading to assessed value; employment; and population stability, all of which should support healthy finances."
The county's unlimited-tax full-faith-and-credit pledge secures the GO debt.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors for this change in credit rating/outlook and/or CreditWatch status:
- Physical risk
Certain terms used in this report, particularly certain adjectives used to express our view on rating relevant factors, have specific meanings ascribed to them in our criteria, and should therefore be read in conjunction with such criteria. Please see Ratings Criteria at www.spglobal.com/ratings for further information. Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect subscribers at www.capitaliq.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on S&P Global Ratings' public website at www.spglobal.com/ratings.
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| Primary Credit Analyst: | Benjamin D Gallovic, Chicago + 1 (312) 233 7070; benjamin.gallovic@spglobal.com |
| Secondary Contact: | Steven E Waldeck, Dayton + 1 (617) 530 8128; steven.waldeck@spglobal.com |
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