Moody’s Ratings has affirmed the City of Salina’s Aa3 credit rating as the city moves forward with a new general obligation bond sale tied to infrastructure and capital projects.

City officials reported that Moody’s confirmed Salina’s rating on June 3, 2026. The rating came as part of the city’s process for offering general obligation bonds for public sale.

According to the city, the Moody’s report cited several strengths, including Salina’s continued position as the regional economic hub of north-central Kansas, conservative budgeting practices and strong tax revenues. The report also noted that positive economic growth, along with significant improvement in resident income and full value per capita, could lead to a future rating upgrade.

The bond sale follows City Commission action on May 11 authorizing the city to offer general obligation bonds for public sale.

The projects being financed include six benefit district projects. One involves road work connected to the new Amazon facility. Five others involve residential subdivision projects. The bond package also includes financing related to the new fire station.

During the bond sale process, city representatives said due diligence work was completed to make sure investors were aware of relevant information about the city. Disclosure documents, offering documents, the preliminary official statement and bidding documents were finalized and distributed before the sale.

Bids for the bonds were received at 11 a.m. on the day of the commission meeting. Six bids were submitted. The lowest true interest cost came from FHN Financial Capital Markets, based in Memphis, at 3.863334%.

City representatives said the bid was verified as mathematically correct, met the required bidding parameters and included the required 2% good-faith deposit.

The bond issue was later resized from the earlier figure of $12.66 million to $12.595 million. Officials said the adjustment was made because bidders offered a premium, allowing the city to receive the net amount of money needed while issuing a slightly lower principal amount.

The interest cost was described as slightly better than last year’s bond sale, though not as low as some prior years. Officials said the number of bids received showed there was active interest from buyers in the city’s bonds.

The Aa3 rating is one factor investors use when evaluating the city’s debt. For local governments, credit ratings can affect borrowing costs by signaling how rating agencies view an issuer’s financial condition and ability to repay debt.

No public comment was made during that portion of the discussion.