Sheriff Newell Normand is pleased to announce that Standard & Poor’s recently
completed a review of the financial stability of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s
Office (JPSO) and has affirmed the “AA” rating given to the Jefferson Parish Law
Enforcement District (LED) Limited Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2008. This is
currently one of the highest bond ratings of any governmental agency in the
State of Louisiana.
Per the attached report, S&P based this rating on the LED’s:
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Service sector-based economy, centered on retail trade, tourism, and health
care, which provides additional diversity to the parish’s traditional base in
shipbuilding and oil-and-gas related industries
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Large and diverse property tax base
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History of “strong operations”, despite projected general fund drawdowns
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Very low debt
On page three of the report, they credit the JPSO with having a history of what
they regard as “strong financial operations”. The JPSO’s history of achieving
its targeted fund balance levels and its decision to pay down some of the
outstanding debt with available cash also led to this rating. S&P also considers
the economic outlook for the area to be stable.
The Sheriff is very proud of this AA rating and believes it is a reflection of
his office making tough and sound budgetary and financial decisions over the
past few years. These decisions have enabled the JPSO to weather the various
economic swings realized over the past few years caused by various hurricanes
and the BP oil spill. These decisions have also allowed the JPSO to modernize
its facilities and to better equip its officers by better leveraging the
revenues received from the citizens of the Parish.
The Sheriff’s Office is very appreciative of the support given this office from
the taxpayers and citizens if Jefferson Parish and will continue to spend the
taxpayer’s money in a proper and efficient manner.
S&P Rating LED Series 2008 12-7-2011
S&P Rating Letter