The city of Bangor retained a top rating from Moody’s Investors Service Inc. on Thursday, just a few days before it begins to sell off its $3.314 million bond issue.

In its rating sheet, Moody’s noted that a strong retail and wholesale trade community help buttress the city’s economy, which serves much of northern and eastern Maine and parts of Canada. Per-capita retail and wholesale sales remain well above state averages despite the recession, Moody’s said.

Moody’s, one of the nation’s two largest bond rating agencies, kept the city’s rating at Aa, the second highest available.

Based on the city’s ability to repay the debt, the strong rating will allow the bonds to be sold at low interest rates.

The bond issue, scheduled for July 12, will help purchase equipment and vehicles, underwrite street and sidewalk construction, and close the landfill.

In it’s announcement, Moody’s applauded the city’s handling of the budget during the past few years, noting that although the area was in the midst of a recession, Bangor remained on track to reach its targeted reserve levels.

Several years ago, the city approved a charter amendment that requires an undesignated general fund balance equivalent to 5 percent to 10 percent of the previous years’ operating budget. The fiscal 1993 operating surplus comes just shy of the 5 percent minimum, “and management’s commitment to meeting this goal is a factor in confirming the high-quality rating,” Moody’s said.