...Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Hamilton, Ohio's $103.7 million electric system revenue refunding bond anticipation notes (BANs), series 2015. We base the rating on the standby note purchase agreement (SNPA) between the city and the state treasurer whereby the treasurer agrees to purchase the notes at maturity. We have applied the guarantee criteria as the key criteria for the rating because we are ultimately looking at the state's cash flow to pay the notes at maturity pursuant to the terms of the agreement and the statutory authorization of the state to purchase local government obligations. The BAN criteria are also applied reflecting the BAN structure. Although the notes are payable from the city's electric revenues, we base our rating on the SNPA. In the agreement, the state treasurer agrees to purchase these notes in the event that the district does not provide sufficient funds to pay before the maturity date. The SNPA's execution is...
