Ramapo and Montebello warned of possible Moody’s downgrade

Moody’s Investor Service, a credit rating agency, put the Town of Ramapo and Village of Montebello on notice requesting their more current financial details from the towns.

A Jan. 3 notice put these towns and six other municipalities in New York on notice. According to the notice if the information isn’t submitted within 30 days, actions will be taken to withdraw or lower ratings.

Ramapo Attorney Michael Klein said Roth & Co. is currently analyzing the town’s finances and once the information is sent to Moody’s, he said the town’s rating will stay put. Montebello Mayor Lance Millman believes the village audit will be finished by the end of the week and does not foresee a drop in their ratings either. Moody’s downgraded Ramapo’s bond rating from A1 to A3 in May.

Poor ratings can increase bond interest rates, costing the tax payers more money. For Ramapo, this notice came at a time when Supervisor Christoper St. Lawrence and Aaron Troodler, former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corp, will face criminal corruption charges in federal court.