YAKIMA - There's been a lot of talk lately about the city of Yakima's budget process. The council agreed to further review the county's model and make changes to fit the city's needs. We did some digging and found that Yakima's bond rating, which is much like a credit rating, is now at the top. The county is much lower. So will these budget changes drop the city's rating?

"The bond rating is based on how we manage our government resources and decisions," said City Manager Dick Zais. The city has had a stable rating for the last 4 years, though not at the highest level, because of spikes in unemployment and ups and downs in the agricultural business. But recently the city of Yakima got an upgrade, from both Standard and Poor's and Moody. Two of the 3 top bond rating agencies. Going from a single A to a double A minus for utilities. With triple A being the best. Then a few months later got another upgrade, this time for the city's tax supported services. Zais says, " I think it's a reflection of good financial practices on behalf of the city for a number of years."

Over on the county side, they too have gone up from an A minus to an A on one bond, and from an A to an A plus on another. Still they remain in the single digits. So I wanted to know if the city adopts a version of the county budget process, could that rating drop? Remember, it's partly based on good government decisions. "I don't think this new process will affect that. What will affect that is if the economy were to soften farther to a dramatic extent, which I hope it doesn't, that would affect ratings," said Zais.

And while the county may be stuck in single digit ratings, they have improved slightly. Even during the time they were tweaking their budget and making significant changes. " I think that what the board has done over the last few years with policies and with the budget practices have made us even stronger," said Ilene Thomson, County Treasurer.

Overall it's been a great year for both the city and county, each getting higher marks for their economic and investment decisions. Which means it's also a great year for you, the taxpayer. Higher ratings mean lower interest rates with future bond issues. Zais says it's quite a feat to get an upgrade on your bond rating during tough economic times. And although they're sitting with a great rating right now, anything can happen. Which is why Standard and Poor's sent letters out warning cities to really watch their ratings during this recession. Just like you need to watch your credit scores.