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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2012
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Moody’s gives Kent a gloomy bond report BY STEVE HUNTER
shunter@kentreporter.com
The city of Kent’s fiscal health received some bad news this week. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the city’s bond rating one point from Aa3 to A1 and assigned a negative outlook to the rating for $78.3 million worth of limited tax general obligation bonds. “The downgrade reflects the city’s significantly deteriorated financial position, resulting from recurring operating deficits and a depletion of cash and reserve levels across all governmental funds,” according
to Moody’s, whose ratings are seen as an indicator of a city’s financial health. Kent has been cutting its budgets for three years, including layoffs. “It’s of great conDennis Higgins cern,” said City Council President Dennis Higgins during a phone interview Wednesday. “We have to take some action. I take it very seriously and I don’t like it.” Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke told the City Council’s Operations Committee meeting Tuesday about the lower rating released
Feb. 6 by Moody’s. “We don’t like to see our credit rating go down but at least it has no impact on current operations,” Cooke said. Cooke said the downSuzette Cooke grade does not affect current indebtedness or bond payments, nor would it affect voter-approved or revenue bonds and the city has no plans to issue limited tax general obligation bonds in the near term. “Rising costs and deteriorating revenues
have forced reductions in every area of our budget,” Cooke said in a city media release. “We have significantly cut internal supports - like training and supplies, reduced staff, cut programs, and delayed projects until economic conditions stabilize. We’ve been trying to maintain a level of service that least damages our residents and job base.” As Moody’s notes, “there is uncertainty with regard to the city’s ability to implement additional expenditure cuts as it has already enacted significant cuts over the last three fiscal years.”
Construction starts on
Valley board approves a legal review of alliance
Valli Kee center BY STEVE HUNTER
Former state Supreme Court justice to conduct governing body probe
shunter@kentreporter.com
Construction has started in Kent on a new $1.2 million community center at a 114-unit public housing complex on the East Hill. Crews will build a 4,330 squarefoot community service center at Valli Kee Homes, 23401 104th Ave. S.E., to replace a 900 squarefoot multipurpose room, according to a media COMMUNITY release from the CENTER King County Housing Authority. Construction is expected to be completed sometime this summer. The project is being funded by a Capital Fund Community Facilities grant awarded last May to the King County Housing Authority from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development intended to support
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BY DENNIS BOX dbox@kentreporter.com
Josh Smith comes home
UCLA’s Joshua Smith grabs a rebound and draws a foul from Washington’s Aziz N’Diaye on Thursday, Feb. 2, at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. Smith graduated from Kentwood High in 2010 after leading the Conks to the state basketball title. CHARLES CORTES, Kent Reporter.
A call for a replay of a few legal calls was on the table at the Valley Medical Center Board of Commissioners meeting Monday in Renton. On a split vote the board hired the Tukwila law firm TalmadgeFitzpatrick to give the board a legal review of the alliance between Valley Medical Center and University of Washington Medicine. Voting for the resolution were Board President Dr. Paul Joos and commissioners Anthony Hemstad and Dr. Aaron Heide. In dissent were Sue Bowman and Carolyn
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