2026 2 20 Strategic Summit Packet

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Moooy's 
INVESTORS SERVICE 
Rating Action: Moody's assigns Aa3 to Athens, TN's 2021 GOUL T bonds; 
affirms outstanding issuer rating at Aa3 
14 Sep 2021 
New York, September 14, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Aa3 to the city of Athens, TN's 
$7.7 million General Obligation Bonds, Series 2021. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the city's outstanding 
issuer rating at Aa3. 
RATINGS RATIONALE 
The Aa3 on both the issuer and general obligation ratings reflects the city's very strong reserve position 
generated through annual operating surpluses and manageable long-term liabilities. The Aa3 also reflects its 
growing tax base but below-average resident income and wealth levels and moderate taxpayer concentration. 
RATING OUTLOOK 
Moody's typically does not assign outlooks to local government issuers with this amount of debt outstanding. 
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OF THE RATINGS 
- Material growth in the local economy 
- Improvement in resident income and wealth indicators 
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS 
- Contraction of the local economy 
- Decline in reserves 
- Material increase in long-term liabilities 
LEGAL SECURITY 
The bonds shall be payable from unlimited ad valorem taxes to be levied on all taxable property within the city. 
For the prompt payment of principal and interest on the bonds, the full faith and credit of the issuer are 
irrevocably pledged. 
USE OF PROCEEDS 
The bonds will be used to fund the acquisition and improvements on the municipal building, public works 
facility, animal shelter, and fire training tower along with various infrastructure improvements. 
PROFILE 
Athens, TN is located in McMinn County, TN aniis approximately halfway between Knoxville (Aa1) and 
Chattanooga. The city's population, according to the 2019 American Community Survey, was 13,851. 
METHODOLOGY 
The principal methodology used in the issuer and general obligation ratings was US Local Government 
General Obligation Debt published in January 2021 and available at 
https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage .aspx?docid=PBM_ 1260094 . Alternatively, please 
see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. 
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES 
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections 
Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and