At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
"(The Center Square) - The city of Los Angeles' controller had a message for city officials: you aren’t spending enough.
The controller put out a recent report for 2023 that said while spending has increased 35% over the past six years, the city isn’t spending all of its revenues.
"The City is not spending what it is budgeting for which means less services, resources, and infrastructure are being provided for Angelenos," the controller’s October report stated."
This year's report highlights the volatility and risk surrounding pension plan assets and corresponding pension liabilities.
Even before the game started, Truth in Accounting concluded Los Angeles beat Cincinnati. LA's Taxpayer Burden is only $6,400 compared to Cincinnati's $18,200. These amounts represent each taxpayer's share of their city's debt, including unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities.
Truth in Accounting has released its sixth annual Financial State of the Cities report.
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.
By Soledad Ursua, includes “… The city pays LAHSA nearly $300 million a year to administer homelessness services on its behalf, yet the agency is unwilling to provide taxpayers or city departments basic information about its activities, such as a line-item scope of services or verifiable data on program outcomes. The agency receives nearly $1 billion in annual funding from federal, state, county, and city sources.”
By Dennis Zine, includes “Some Elected and appointed Los Angeles City Hall officials have clearly demonstrated they are out for themselves and lost their commitment to the Voters, Residents and Taxpayers of the once Proud and Internationally known City of the Angels… While we have read about City Hall corruption and the continuing Federal Investigations, …”
By Jack Humphreville, includes “The City’s two underfunded pension plans, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System and the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, may no longer be underfunded as a result of blockbuster returns on their investment portfolios for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2021.”
By Adam Andrzejewski, includes “Being a lifeguard isn’t easy, but in Los Angeles it can be lucrative. Auditors at OpenTheBooks.com found 82 county lifeguards earning at least $200,000 including benefits and seven making between $300,000 and $392,000. … After 30 years of service, they can retire as young as 55 on 79% of their pay.”
Truth in Accounting has released a new analysis of the 10 most populous U.S. cities that includes their largest underlying government units.
Editorial, includes “… Not only is this uncharted territory, but the bailout plan will result in what economists refer to as ‘moral hazard.’ … By having taxpayers protect unions from the results of poor management, it discourages them from embracing reforms.”
By David Zahniser, Dakota Smith and Julia Wick, includes “… ‘Now, with this money, we can put that money back into the savings account,’ he said during his weekly COVID-19 briefing. ‘We can pay off the credit card. And any cuts we’ve made in critical services, we can restore.’ …”
By David Crane, includes “As Congress debates the next Covid-19 relief package for state and local governments and schools, it should note that the Golden State is currently leaving billions of already-approved federal dollars on the table. … Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, is entitled to OPEB as a result of her employment by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. The solution is simple: terminate any obligation to provide benefits when the retiree or dependent is eligible to receive health insurance at the expense of another employer …”
By Teri Sforza, includes “It’s a bit like hiding credit card bills under the mattress and declaring that everything’s fine: Cities, a watchdog group says, don’t include the true costs of government in the budgets they present to the public. Into this financial house of mirrors strides Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to translating inscrutable financial documents into a language everyone can understand.”
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.
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.
The Los Angeles area comprises the Hollywood movie studios, Beverly Hills, Muscle Beach, and a previously booming economy that trailed only New York City and Tokyo.
The Los Angeles area comprises the Hollywood movie studios, Beverly Hills, Muscle Beach, and a previously booming economy that trailed only New York City and Tokyo.
The City of Los Angeles is still looking for a financial bailout from Washington, DC, despite the apparent failure of the Democrats to flip the Senate.