Standard & Poor has raised the long-term rating on the Cleveland- Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s development revenue bonds to ‘BBB+. The outlook is stable. In September, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the rating to BBB/Stable. The Port has since secured a new Letter of Credit (LOC) with FirstMerit Bank N.A., headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The characteristics of the new LOC were cited as the prime reason for the upgrade. Port bonds are issued through a program that has a pooled collateral system of reserves, with the most significant one being the LOC. “This action is welcome and will translate into lower costs for borrowers, making our program even more competitive,” said Will Friedman, the Port’s President and CEO.