Sandoval County announced Friday that Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the county’s New Mexico’s issuer rating and the rating on the general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) bonds at Aa3.

The A-/A3 rating signifies that the issuer or carrier has mostly financial backing and some cash reserves. The risk of default for investors or policyholders is somewhat low.

Commissioner David Heil, District 4 and chair of the Sandoval County Board of County Commissioners said that Moody’s “has upgraded the rating on the county’s gross receipts tax (GRT) bonds to A1 from A2. The affirmation and upgrade affects about $13.9 million in GOULT bonds and $5 million in GRT bonds, respectively. The negative outlook has been removed.”

Heil said: “This is very good news for Sandoval County. We work hard at preserving our ratings’ rankings, being fiscally prudent and being compliant with all of our financial obligations.”

According to Sandoval County, there had a been misinterpretation of a regulation and subsequently, certain steps were required to correct the error, which the county did.

Moody’s Corporation, an American financial services company, acts as the holding company for Moody’s Investors Service and Moody’s Analytics. Moody’s Investors Service provides investors with credit ratings, risk analysis and research for stocks, bonds and government entities.