Fitch Ratings downgrades Maine transportation bonds
Fitch Ratings says Maine's "sluggish" economy and other factors led it to downgrade its assessment of Maine's transportation bonds.
The Bangor Daily News reported the ratings agency moved the Maine Municipal Bond Bank's $208.9 million in transportation infrastructure revenue bonds through its TransCap Program, from an AA rating to AA-. The bonds are to be repaid by revenue from a state fuel tax, which Fitch said is set to decline in coming years, due to a statutory change.
Michael Goodwin, executive director of the bond bank, told the paper the change is insignificant in the short term because those existing bonds have a fixed interest rate. Future bonds, he told the paper, could face a small increase (of around 0.1%, he estimated), but he noted there are no current plans to issue more bonds through that program.
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