S&P Global Inc. has upgraded Wayne County's bonds rating to investment grade, the county announced Monday.

The county's general obligation bonds now have a BBB-/Positive rating as a result of updates to the New York analytics firm's methodology, a news release said.

The rating increase earlier this month reflects that Wayne County has had its third straight year of budget surplus growth, Wayne County Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz said. It echoes a ratings bump by Fitch Ratings Inc. last May.

The surpluses will be put in reserve as insurance against challenges the county may face in the future, such as a potential recession, the release said.

"It's especially significant because it takes you from non-investment grade to investment grade," he said. "It's a step in the process of transformation that the county has gone through since Warren [Evans] was elected [executive] and an outside credit agency shows that we have better discipline as we build our county."

In addition to the ratings increases, Wayne County has launched a new website to help investors monitor bonds. Officials are working on a year-to-year, $1,200 contract with Boston-based BondLink Inc. to use the financial services software at WayneCountyInvestors.com, Dachowitz said. There, financial information and data can be located in one place free of costs to users.

BondLink also collects a fee when bonds are issued, Dachowitz said.

"This should make following the county easier for investors, which could build demand," he said. "It's another tool to help investors understand the story."

Dachowitz said Wayne County will be up for review again in the next six weeks. Monitoring is done on an annual basis.

This is positive news for the municipality, which is gearing up to raise funds to help build the proposed criminal justice complex. The better the rating, the lower the interest rates will be when the county borrows money.

"The number one focus right now is that when the commission approves the transaction for the criminal justice complex, we will be looking to raise $300 million in bonds," Henry said. "It will be the first time we're approaching the long-term bond market in 10 years."

Henry says the administration expects a bond offering to be issued in the next three months. The county is also focused on crafting a budget for next year, he said.