But it’s not sustainable.
Too much spending is one reason New York City’s financial condition worsened over the past year, earning it an F grade in Truth in Accounting’s latest fiscal-watchdog report.
The Big Apple ranked worst of the 75 biggest municipalities.
At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
"Sobering Statistics
The study, called Financial State of the Cities 2023, was done by Truth in Accounting. It has some difficult truths: 50 out of 75 cities could not pay their bills; the combined debt for all 75 cities is $267 billion. Moreover, elected officials didn’t include the cost of government in this figure, instead pushing it onto future taxpayers."
This year's report highlights the volatility and risk surrounding pension plan assets and corresponding pension liabilities.
The state’s net AGI migration improved by nearly $1.4 billion, from around negative $1.6 billion to negative $302 million, in 2020. The IRS’ newly released interstate Adjusted Gross Income migration data show how much wealth states lost or gained between 2019 and 2020. The latest available data is for 2020. Net AGI migration in 2020 is calculated by subtracting AGI inflow from AGI outflow. The change between 2019 and 2020 in net AGI migration takes an individual state’s net AGI migration in 2020 and subtracts it from net AGI in 2019.
When assessing the states whose wealth increased the most between 2019 and 2020 through migration, most follow previous AGI migration trends: Florida, Tennessee, Nevada, and Texas are among the top states for net AGI increase in 2020. Most of these states’ performance has been analyzed by Truth In Accounting: Top and Bottom Net AGI 2020 Analysis. READ MORE
Includes: “New York City is in trouble. A new report by Truth In Accounting, a nonpartisan nonprofit that specializes in government transparency, shows that New York City has $204.4 billion in debt—$71,400 per taxpayer. This means that each taxpayer would have to pay $71,400 in future taxes without receiving any related services or benefits."
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 Joseph Borelli, includes “When he takes office less than a month from now, incoming Mayor Eric Adams will have to deal with the financial mess de Blasio is leaving behind. Only, it’s a lot bigger. After years of treating the city’s budget the way rock bands treat hotel rooms, Mayor de Blasio will be handing his successor a city in far worse financial shape than the one he took the helm of in 2014. … ”
Reuters story, includes “The DOJ and Allianz declined to comment on the nature of the investigation, which could lead to criminal charges. The [SEC] launched a probe into the demise of the funds last year, Allianz disclosed after the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System filed a lawsuit in July 2020 seeking $774 million in damages.”
By Adam Andrzejewski, includes “… That $85,400 number is stark because regular citizens could never pay that kind of government debt."
Editorial, includes “… The Wirepoints report didn’t include Chicago, but there are dark clouds looming here as well. A study by Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan organization, assessed the finances of the 10 biggest U.S. cities. … Guess which city has the biggest total debt per capita? Yep, Chicago, at a mammoth $126,600. In runner-up New York, that figure is $85,400.”
By Howard Husock and E.J. McMahon, includes “Real estate taxation, the main source of revenue for local governments across the United States, rests on the technical and arcane—yet crucial—process of property reassessment. ”
Truth in Accounting has released a new analysis of the 10 most populous U.S. cities that includes their largest underlying government units.
By Jessica Gould, includes “Federal stimulus money could be transformative for New York City’s public school system. But it’s not clear exactly how much money is coming or when. Education advocates said they are closely watching the state budget, due April 1st, for more clarity.”
One-hour webinar with Sheila Weinberg, Steven Malanga, Tom Kozlik, and Michael Hendrix, text intro includes “While New York City struggles to shore up its finances in the wake of Covid-19, an even larger crisis looms: the city’s long-term public pension and healthcare obligations to retirees.”
By Dave Fidlin, includes “… ‘New York City is a pretty important example of this, I’m afraid,’ Bergman said in an interview with The Center Square of his concerns. ‘If New York City is balancing its budget each year, how can that explain the accumulation of a massive negative net position?”
By Edward Seidle, includes “What a remarkable coincidence that New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is looking to loosen strict rules that govern private-equity firms managing the city’s pensions when the Democrat is running for mayor in this year’s election. … Stringer is hardly the first politician to use pensions set aside to provide retirement security for government workers to further his ambitions.”
By Megan McGibney, includes “Fitzgerald went on to point out that the returning of funds happens each year for many of the public schools; this year, however, the pandemic has changed the landscape dramatically.”
By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square), includes “The majority of U.S. cities were ill-prepared for any financial crisis last year, let alone the one brought about by their respective state shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report published by the nonprofit Truth in Accounting (TIA) concludes.”