Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Chief Administrative and Financial Officer (CAFO) Cathy Buono, Deputy CAFO Lindsay Hackett, Comptroller Patrick Burns, Deputy Comptroller Heather Benjamin, and Treasurer Steve Lonergan joined together to remotely attend and present at today’s Massachusetts Municipal Finance Oversight Board (MFOB) Meeting.
The MFOB considers applications from municipal governments to use the Commonwealth's bond rating to borrow money to fund capital improvement projects, land acquisition, and emergency repairs. By using the state's bond rating, municipal governments can secure lower interest rates, saving taxpayer money.
Today, the MFOB approved the city’s $26,109,246 request, which will cover expenses such as body worn cameras, city vehicles, and school roof, window, and boiler replacements. During the meeting the MFOB also noted the City of Springfield’s financial strength and stability. The City of Springfield Finance team led by CAFO Cathy Buono has received the "Distinguished Budget Award” from the Government Finance Officers Association for the nineteenth year in a row.
Under Mayor Sarno’s leadership, the City has maintained the highest bond rating in its history, largely due to his administration’s commitment to fiscal excellence and maintaining healthy reserves. In April 2025, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) reaffirmed the City’s AA- bond rating, with a stable outlook. This continues to be the highest rating in the City’s history, steadily improving from its A- rating twelve years ago. This credit rating review focuses on the City’s strong institutional core by highlighting Springfield’s management with strong financial policies and practices, strong budgetary performance, and strong budgetary flexibility. These rating improvements demonstrate how well the City has recovered since the last economic downturn, and our commitment to fiscal sustainability.
Mayor Sarno states, “I appreciate the Municipal Finance Oversight Board for hearing and okaying our request today. This will enable us to move forward on various fronts. Thank you to Treasurer Deb Goldberg for your dedicated efforts toward economic stability and creating opportunity. Our continued fiscal responsibly has enabled my administration, in partnership with our Springfield Public Schools, Facilities Management, Department Capital Asset Management, and the Massachusetts School Building Administration (MSBA) to invest over $1 billion into building new schools and renovate existing schools – the most in the Commonwealth! Springfield was also among the first police departments in Massachusetts to implement the use of body-worn cameras for all sworn police officers. This has been a very successful initiative as it protects our brave and dedicated women and men in blue and increases our transparency with our residents. Thank you to our entire city team for your continued dedication to strengthening our city and delivering for our residents and business community. Good health and God Bless.”
CAFO Cathy Buono stated, “These are important projects and with the state-qualified bonds we will save money on these expenses. I’d like to commend our dedicated team, who work very hard to meet the challenging fiscal needs of our community while maintaining a healthy and sustainable financial budget each year that does not mortgage our future. As we enter the city’s fiscal budget season, I am also looking forward to working closely with Mayor Sarno and all of our department heads so that we can provide the best services and programs possible for our residents and business community.”
