The rating on the City of Brampton, in the Province of Ontario, reflects Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' assessment of the city's very strong and well-diversified economy, exceptional liquidity, very strong budgetary performance, and strong revenue-side budgetary flexibility. The rating also reflects our view of the "very predictable and well-balanced" local government framework, our opinion of the positive impact of Brampton's strong financial management on its credit profile, and very low debt and contingent liabilities. We believe that restricted expenditure flexibility and a significant, albeit declining, development charge (DC) reserve deficit mitigate these strengths somewhat. We estimate that Brampton's economy is very strong, and that it generated a GDP per capita close to the provincial average of about US$48,600 for
