AMHERST — Amherst’s strong financial position and prudent fiscal management are being recognized by S&P Global Ratings, which recently gave the town an AA+ bond rating with a stable outlook, the second highest rating it assigns.

The latest bond rating means that Amherst is maintaining the rating it first achieved in 2014, when it was upgraded to one step below the highest rating.

“We are proud of this recognition, which reflects the hard work and strategic planning of our financial team and Town Council,” said Town Manager Pauk Bockelman, adding that this demonstrates a commitment to responsible governance and positions the town well for continued growth and investment.

The AA+ long-term rating was assigned for the $14 million series 2025 general obligation school project bonds for the nearly $100 million elementary school building being constructed on South East Street.

The report from Rahul Chakraborty, a senior analyst at S&P, and Christian Richards, director at S&P Global Ratings, states, “The rating reflects the town’s strong financial profile, supported by consistently positive operations and the maintenance of reserves at around 30% of revenues for its recent operating history, well above that of similarly rated peers. The credit profile is bolstered by well-entrenched financial management policies and practices with an emphasis on long-term planning that we expect will continue to support conservative budgetary decisions over the outlook horizon.”

“AA+ is about as good as we can get at this moment in time,” Bockelman said. “We do everything humanly possible to get the best bond rating we can.”

Bockelman praised the financial team, which includes Comptroller Holly Drake, Treasurer-Collector Jennfier LaFountain, Clerk to the Council Athena O’Keffe and former Finance Director Melissa Zawadzki, and observes the report discusses the positive operation, strong reserves, well-entrenched financial management polices and practices and long-term planning.

S&P analyzed the town’s finances on five major criteria: economy, financial performance, reserves and liquidity, debt and liabilities and management. S&P also did do a lot of investigation about imact of federal cuts to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College and Hampshire College.

But the issues for Amherst referenced in the report have been constant over the years: “Underlying wealth and income metrics significantly lag county levels, similarly rated peers nationally and most rated governments within the state. However, the presence of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst College, and Hampshire College, collectively part of the ‘Knowledge Corridor,’ provide a stabilizing presence, that offsets low-income metrics fueled by a large student population.”

Bockelman said the wealth in the community is driven down by the large number of college students. He and others have pushed back that, while students themselves have limited money, their families have resources. This doesn’t matter to S&P.

“They are limited in what they can count for wealth,” Bockelman said.

Still, being a community with multiple colleges, that provides stability, as do the large employers in the region.

“Everything we can control we’ve done,” Bockelman said.