Financial State of the Cities 2024

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.

Detroit nears huge financial health milestone

APRIL 11, 2023 | NEWS BREAK | by Annalise Frank

"Moody's Investors Service upgraded Detroit's bond rating again , getting the city one step closer to a major milestone in its financial recovery after falling into bankruptcy a decade ago."

Financial State of the Cities 2023

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

This year's report highlights the volatility and risk surrounding pension plan assets and corresponding pension liabilities.

Financial State of the Cities 2022

JANUARY 25, 2022

Truth in Accounting has released its sixth annual Financial State of the Cities report.

PRESS RELEASE: Majority of U.S. cities finances worsened during beginning of COVID-19 pandemic

JANUARY 24, 2022

Despite receiving federal assistance from the CARES Act and other COVID-19 related grants, the majority of cities’ finances worsened. Total debt among the 75 largest U.S. cities amounted to $357 billion at the end of the fiscal year 2020, which was $23.5 billion worse than the last fiscal year.

‘Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit’ wins $200K Library of Congress/Ken Burns documentary prize

OCTOBER 27, 2021 | DEADLINE | by Jill Goldsmith

By Jill Goldsmith, includes “The winning entry explores the decline of the American manufacturing city culminating in the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2013 and its aftermath.”

Majority of U.S. cities ill-prepared for COVID-19 pandemic

JANUARY 26, 2021

The 2021 Financial State of the Cities (FSOC) surveys the fiscal health of the 75 largest municipalities in the United States. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.

Financial State of the Cities 2021

JANUARY 26, 2021

Our fifth annual Financial State of the Cities report. This analysis surveys the fiscal health of the 75 most populated US cities prior to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Beaumont Health paid CEO $2.6 million bonus weeks before bailout

NOVEMBER 17, 2020 | DETROIT FREE PRESS | by Jennifer Dixon

Beaumont Health paid its chief executive a $2.6 million bonus weeks before the state'slargest hospital system turned to the federal government for a financial bailout.

Unholy alliance of power, money fueled corruption scheme

JULY 30, 2020 | DETROIT LEGAL NEWS | by Mark Gillispie

An accused co-conspirator called it an “unholy alliance” — dealings between a longtime Ohio politician seeking to restore his power and an energy company in desperate need of a billion-dollar bailout to rescue two nuclear plants in the state.

Major Michigan cities struggle with coronavirus budget crises, left to fend for themselves

JULY 27, 2020 | THE ‘GANDER (MICHIGAN) | by Katelyn Kivel

 It was a long road getting Detroit out of a financial abyss. The city endured the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history after decades of decline, and as the city began to recover, a global health emergency burned through the streets. 

Are public pensions doomed because of the coronavirus pandemic?

JUNE 4, 2020 | USA TODAY | by Nathan Bomey

Corey Shelton, an eighth grade science teacher in Jackson, Michigan, has earned a pension after more than 20 years on the job, but now he’s concerned that the economic devastation from the coronavirus pandemic will threaten the monthly checks he’s been counting on to fund his retirement.

States pleading for federal bailout are the most poorly managed

JUNE 3, 2020 | THE DETROIT NEWS | by Johnny Kampis

An annual study by national financial watchdog Truth in Accounting (TIA)  found that many of the states that are now crowing the loudest for a federal bailout during the pandemic are among the states that are performing the poorest. 

American states are already free to seek shelter in bankruptcy court

APRIL 30, 2020 | THE NEW YORK SUN | by Edwin Schindler

Blue State governors are up in arms about the prospects that the corona pandemic and their own mismanagement might force their states into bankruptcy. 

How cities fail: Service delivery insolvency and municipal bankruptcy

MARCH 10, 2020 | MICHIGAN STATE LAW REVIEW

Courts in municipal bankruptcy cases have confronted the inherent vagueness in the statutory tests for municipal “insolvency” by embracing a test of “service delivery insolvency."

Do higher home values equal more homelessness?

FEBRUARY 26, 2020 | by Madison Randolph

It's not as simple as you might think

2020 Financial State of the Cities

JANUARY 28, 2020

Our fourth annual report on the financial condition of the nation's 75 largest cities. 

Detroit homeowners overtaxed by $600 million

JANUARY 10, 2020 | THE DETROIT NEWS | by Christine Macdonald

Detroit overtaxed homeowners by at least $600 million after it failed to accurately bring down property values in the years following the Great Recession, according to an investigation by The Detroit News.

Big US cities and counties that have gone bust

JANUARY 8, 2020 | LOVE MONEY

Detroit famously declared itself bankrupt in 2013, but it’s by no means alone. While not very common, cities, townsand counties can file Chapter 9 Bankruptcy when unable to pay their bills.

Pouring pensions into potholes too great a risk

AUGUST 22, 2019 | THE DETROIT NEWS | by Paula Herbart

A pension is a promise of a secure retirement. But too often in Lansing, they’re viewed as piggy banks to be broken into for political purposes. 

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