Mayor Roberto L. Alves: Moody’s Withdraws Danbury’s Credit Rating Due to Audit Delays; Alves’ Fiscal Responsibility Plan Underway
Mayor Roberto L. Alves today announced that Moody’s has publicly notified the City of Danbury this evening they will pull the city’s credit rating based on past due 2021, 2022, and 2023 audits. Since January the City of Danbury has taken action to tackle the fiscal mismanagement and delays caused by the previous administration.
“This is a reflection of the state of the city’s finances that we inherited this year; in our conversations with Moodys they have made clear that this downgrade is a result of a failure to audit in 2021, 2022, and 2023. That inability to audit in years past is not just a disservice to taxpayers and transparency, it’s unconducive to basic fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. Now, it’s going to have financial consequences,” said Mayor Roberto L. Alves
I want all residents to know that we have been working on this issue as well as pinpointing other areas of fiscal mismanagement from years past as quickly as we can. Our core value is responsible management, and we’re doing everything possible to end an era of bait-and-switch budgeting and gimmicks that are intended to hide the city’s real financial status. This is a process that will not be solved overnight but it’s one that we are going to continue to make progress on,” continued Mayor Alves
“When we got here, we uncovered just how dire and hidden — from public view — the situation was. We are taking a thoughtful and responsible approach to find savings, manage our city efficiently, and overcome the budgetary hurdles that we inherited. We have an economic obligation and a moral imperative for our kids and grandkids to do exactly that.” Concluded Mayor Roberto L. Alves.
January 2023: City of Danbury placed on State of CT MFAC (Municipal Finance Advisory Commission) due to 2021 and 2022 audit delays
December 1, 2023: Mayor Alves takes office, has ongoing meetings with Finance Department, Board of Education Finance Department, MFAC, and audit firms, and is notified the 2023 audit will not be submitted on time
January 2024: CLA – Clifton Larson Allen, audit firm, meets with Mayor Alves, Finance Department, and Board of Education to discuss audit needs and timelines
February 2024: CLA & City of Danbury begin working collaboratively to finish the 2022 audit
June 3, 2024: Fitch downgrades the City of Danbury’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, citing ‘significant delays’ in past audit
June 13, 2024: 2022 Audit submitted, work begins on 2023 audit
August 2024: Work on 2023 audit continues
September 13, 2024: Moody's pulls City of Danbury’s credit rating, citing delays of past audits: 2021, 2022, and 2023
September 2024: Work on the 2023 audit continues
December 2024: Goal submission for the 2023 audit
March 2025: Goal submission for the 2024 audit
Mayor Alves’ Administration, the City of Danbury Finance Department, the Board of Education, and CLA continue to work diligently to submit the 2023 audit so work on the 2024 audit can begin and get the city back on track.