S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'AAA' long-term rating to Needham, Mass.' series 2019 general obligation (GO) municipal purpose loan bonds. At the same time, we affirmed our 'AAA' long-term rating on the town's outstanding GO debt. The outlook is stable. The town is a predominantly residential suburb of Boston. Facilitated by regular commuter rail and bus service accessible throughout the town, residents commute to Boston and other nearby employment centers. Needham's economy has a diverse mix of manufacturing, services, and commercial trades, including TripAdvisor, Coca Cola Bottling, and NBCUniversal. Partially attributed to conservative budgeting, Needham outperformed its budget and continued to improve its reserve profile in fiscal 2018. The town's full-faith-and-credit pledge secures the bonds. Voters agreed to exempt some
