It was revealed at the Grafton County Commissioners’ Meeting of Tuesday, July 28, 2026 that “…Moody’s Bond Rating for Grafton County has been downgraded from “double A3” to “A1” by Grafton County Assistant Administrator, Hollie Helsholz.
According to Wikipedia, “Moody’s Ratings operates on a worldwide scale. It is a major international credit rating agency that evaluates corporate and government debt across more than 160 countries.”
Further, “Moody’s Ratings is a leading global provider of credit ratings and research which offers valuable insights into financial stability and creditworthiness for organizations, debt instruments, and securities.” “Moody’s has over a century of expertise.”
“Moody’s Ratings, a credit ratings division of Moody’s Corporation, was known as Moody’s Investors Service until March, 2024, when it was rebranded Moody’s Ratings. It provides international financial research of bonds issued by commercial and government entities. Along with Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Group, Moody’s is one of the Big Three credit rating agencies.”
What does this downgrade from “AA3” to “A1” mean to Grafton County taxpayers and other investors? Again, according to Google, “this shift shows a higher risk that a borrower might struggle to pay debts, driven by rising national debt and growing budget deficits.”
Further, according to Google, “a ‘Downgrade’ means:
- Higher borrowing costs…higher interest rates to borrowers & taxpayers;
- Economic warning…acts as a ‘red flag’ about poor financial management; (are our County officials and County Treasurer doing a responsible job?!)
- Market Reaction…bond yields go up & investors recheck their financial risk levels”
At the July 14, 2026 Grafton County Commissioners’ Meeting, a majority of the Commissioners voted to spend $462,050.00 for “enhanced schematic design” of another courthouse from federal ARPA funds (still taxpayer monies!) based upon the recommendation of retiring Maintenance Supervisor, Jim Oakes. Other remuneration recommendations by the retiring Maintenance Supervisor are too lengthy to mention here.
Grafton County taxpayers should seriously consider the ramifications of this Downgrade and the County’s spending on their own pocketbooks when another courthouse is built.
