N.Y.’s Suffolk County Cut by Fitch as Sandy Hurts Revenue
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New York’s Suffolk County, home of eastern Long Island’s Hamptons beach towns, had $1.4 billion of general-obligation bonds cut to A from A+ by Fitch Ratings as the region recovers from Hurricane Sandy.
County Executive Steve Bellone declared a fiscal emergency a year ago after the county’s spending plan ended out of balance for the first time in two decades. The municipality’s budget office is projecting a $51 million shortfall in 2013 on lower sales- and property-tax revenue last year because of Sandy, according to a report from New York-based Fitch.