DeKalb County Housing Authority's $12.6 million multifamily housing bonds series 1996A and the $1.3 million series 1996C have been downgraded to BB and B from BBB and BB.

At the same time, the New York-based rating agency raised suburban Alpharetta, GA's $52 million general obligation debt to AA+ from AA and also assigned its AA+ rating to the city's $13.19 million general obligation refunding bonds.

In DeKalb County, S&P says "the outlook is negative" on the bonds covering two affordable housing projects, Regency I, 85% occupied, and Regency II, 87% leased. The downgrades came after the housing authority's trustee used debt service reserve funds for each series to make the Jan. 1, 2003 debt service payment on the bonds, S&P says in a prepared statement by analysts Ryan Fitzpatrick in New York and Lawrence Witte in San Francisco.