FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jim Lewin, Lee County Administration

(941) 335-2336

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 6, 2000) – Moody’s Investors Service, one of the country’s four major rating agencies, has upgraded its rating of Lee County Government Capital Revenue Bonds from A2 to A1 for the county’s $178.3 million of parity debt (debt pledged with sources other than enterprise fund revenues and property taxes).

A1 is the agency’s highest quality rating for "Upper Medium Grade" debt.

Moody’s cited "ample covenanted non-ad valorem revenues, well-managed financial operations with growing reserve levels, and an expanding economy with a growing population" as the reasons for the upgrade.

"Conservative budgeting has helped produce favorable budget-to-actual performance in the operating funds," the agency said in a release Monday. "…The county’s current debt burden of 1.4% remains moderate given the continuing growth in taxable resources."

Moody’s awarded the upgrade after reviewing the county’s latest proposed bond issue -- $17.8 million to complete the expansion of the Ortiz Correctional Facility, make improvements to the downtown jail and county’s Emergency Operations Center, and build a Juvenile Assessment Center. The Board of Lee County Commissioners approved the issuance of the jail expansion bonds today.

Lee County Government’s total debt is about $1.2 billion (including the airport, which is a separate, self-supporting authority). Annual debt service (repayment of principal and interest) represents about 8.6 percent of appropriations. Standard & Poor’s Rating Group, another of the major rating agencies, suggests that annual debt service should not exceed 10-to-15 percent of appropriations.

For more information about Lee County’s debt, the Lee County Debt Manual is online at the county government’s web site (www.lee-county.com) under the "Lee County Documents Online" section.