Standard&Poor's Ratings Services has assigned its 'SP-1' rating to Fitchburg, Mass.' GO bond anticipation notes (BANs), and raised its Standard&Poor's underlying rating (SPUR) on Fitchburg's GO debt to 'BBB+' from 'BBB-'. The outlook is stable. The upgrade reflects our view of improvements in the city's financial management procedures that began in 2008 along with budget changes that stabilized financial results in fiscal 2008 and enabled a structurally balanced budget for fiscal 2010. Although the city projects its financial position to decline by a relatively small amount in fiscal 2009, that decline coincides with midyear state aid reductions, and management has made additional changes to the fiscal 2010 budget. In our opinion, an additional credit strength is
