The city of Henderson is in good financial shape, according to the firm that conducted its 2024 audit.
“The city is in very solid financial shape,” said Mac Neel, a local accountant whose firm, ATA, conducted the city of Henderson’s 2024 audit.
Neel also said the city’s Moody’s rating is Aa3, which is very “strong for a municipality our size.” An Aa3 rating shows a relatively high level of creditworthiness.
Additionally, Neel reported that the city has a $24.4 million fund balance—an increase of $4.2 million over 2023 when it was $20.2 million.
The $24.4 million ending balance represents 244.6 days of expenditures, well above the recommended minimum of 90 days expenditures, according to the audit report.
The report said the city’s strengths are its healthy reserves and liquidity, moderately sized tax base and located near Evansville and strong fund balance policy.
The city’s credit challenges include a moderate reliance on economically sensitive revenues and utility PILOT’s, above average total leverage and fixed costs and below average resident income and wealth, said the report.
The ATA report commends the city, saying its “financial position will remain healthy, supported by management’s history of conservative budgeting and strong fiscal policies.”
Neel did point out that the city has about $40 million capacity left in its legal bond limit. In a previous Hendersonian report, city staff said the commission may need to be choosy with which projects it funds in the future, possibly pushing some back.
Finance Director Chelsea Mills said in the October article that the city currently has about 25% of its legal debt limit of bonding remaining. According to a document supplied by Mills, the general bonded debt has increased from $44 million in 2020 to what will be about $110.8 million in 2025.
This increase has come from bonding the city has released to pay for several projects, such as the new athletic complex on Airline Road and Fire Station #1 on Second Street.