Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has asked county agencies to cut $150 million from construction projects over the next six years to protect the county’s coveted AAA bond rating. The effort aims to reduce the county’s dependency on general obligation bonds — which account for about $1.8 billion of the county’s six-year, $2.24-billion capital improvements budget — to reduce the county’s overall debt.

Although no credit-rating agencies such as Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s has suggested that the county’s debt levels are too high, Department of Finance Director Joe Beach said, “it’s higher than we would like it to be.”