Montgomery County officials are in New York today talking up the county's recent economic growth with financial analysts in an attempt to improve the county's bond rating.

The trip to meet with analysts from two of the nation's top bond-rating agencies is the first for county officials since 1987 and could result in lowered interest payments that could save taxpayers as much as $700,000 and reduce a 3-cent property tax rate increase already planned for 2010.

The bonds will help finance $85.9 million in county building projects, including two new elementary schools, the Blacksburg High School stadium already under construction and the county's $19.8 million courthouse project. Also included is a jail renovation and a public safety building project still being planned.

County Administrator Clay Goodman said that despite a slumping national economy, officials hope to point toward developments such as Blacksburg's $40 million First & Main project and the addition of several major national chain stores to the New River Valley Mall's power strip addition.

"We just want to show them overall that things are going well here," Goodman said.

Showcasing the area's growth could convince analysts that the county's bonds are less risky and can be issued at lower interest rates.

Officials say they are hopeful that they can raise the county's bond rating from its upper-grade A-plus designation into the higher grade bond ratings, which begin at AA-minus.

This week's meetings are with analysts from Moody's and Standard & Poor's. The county also has meetings in New York scheduled with bond insurers. Goodman said the county will have to weigh the cost of insurance against any savings from an improved bond rating before making a decision.

The county has built long-term budget projections around what Assistant County Administrator Carol Edmonds called a "worst-case" scenario of 6 percent interest on new bonds. Officials are hopeful they can lock in an interest rate below 5 percent, but the rate will depend on both the county's bond rating and market conditions when the bonds go up for sale next month.

Although credit markets have been in disarray since the housing sector began posting big losses, government-backed bonds are generally viewed as safer investments. But Dan Robertson, a Charlottesville financial adviser for CapWest Securities, said securing an interest rate below 5 percent could be difficult.

"It's not that there's a lack of money to be invested, it's that there's a lack of confidence," Robertson said. "Rates have gone up everywhere."

Still, Goodman said, the county's economy has remained relatively isolated from market turbulence because of the presence of Radford University and Virginia Tech. And he added that long-term planning for the bonds -- including tax increases -- could make the bonds look less risky to analysts and investors.

"You definitely want to go being optimistic," Goodman said. "We've planned for this. We think we can sell a pretty good story: We're doing well."