In October 2008, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) upgraded the general obligation bond rating for the city of San Antonio, Texas (pop. 1.144 million), to AAA, the highest level possible. S&P cited the city’s “maintenance of strong financial reserves and continued diversifications of the local economy” as the primary factors behind the upgrade. ICMA recognized San Antonio in 1952 as operating under the council-manager form of government. The city’s current manager, Sheryl Sculley, is considered by many to be one of the top municipal managers in the country. This package includes a copy of the San Antonio press release announcing the upgrade and two related articles from the online version of the San Antonio Express-News. (Council-Manager Form Resource Package)