Baltimore’s finances are in a bad way. Despite assurances from the mayor that the city’s $4.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2025 is balanced, this misleading message masks a dismal reality. As fiscal watchdog Truth in Accounting notes in its 2024 “Financial State of the Cities” report, “Baltimore would need $14,100 from each of its taxpayers to pay all of its outstanding bills”
Trending now nonprofit group "Truth in Accounting" recently ranked the financial health of all 50 states and in that report Maryland received a "D" grade.
Our fifteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
Truth in Accounting has once again created a transparency score for the financial reporting by state governments to encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information.
"A new report from the nonpartisan organization truth in accounting reveals the fiscal condition of each state, Maryland received a "D" ranking.
CEO of Openthebooks.com, Adam Andrzejewski, joins Fox45 Morning Show to break this down for us."
Now Available
Our annual report on state fiscal health. Debt among the states improved slightly. Going from $1.2 trillion down to $938.6 billion.
What happened?
How did your state do? Read the full report below.
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/news/detail/financial-state-of-the-states-2023
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This year's report found that 31 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
By Brent Addleman, includes “Maryland ranks second in the nation in the latest Truth in Accounting fiscal transparency report. The report tracks the publication of financial information from states and awards a score based on the timeliness of the release of information and the ease with which the public can review the information. …”
By Eric Boehm, includes “Bizarre and misshapen congressional districts are often the result of a partisan effort to cement certain outcomes in future elections. State lawmakers, who in most cases control the once-every-decade redistricting process, are motivated to craft maps that allow their ‘team’ to win as many districts as possible. ” (Note: See “Gerrymandering Sucks,” from 2015)
To encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information, Truth in Accounting has created a transparency score for financial reporting by the states.
By Rebecca Tan, includes “Maryland is ending the fiscal year with a $2.5 billion balance in its state budget, largely attributable to a windfall in tax revenue, state analysts said Thursday.”
Includes “Maryland has a huge $2.5 billion fund balance in the state budget, largely due to federal stimulus aid during the pandemic, the state’s comptroller announced Wednesday. Comptroller Peter Franchot made the announcement as the state closed its books for the last fiscal year. The $2.5 billion fund balance represents more than 5% of the state’s $48 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2021.”
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Truth in Accounting's twelfth annual Financial State of the States report, a nationwide analysis of the most recent state government financial information.
Includes “With Maryland’s state pension fund nearly $20 billion in the red, a new statewide survey from the Maryland Public Policy Institute reveals that a large majority of voters are concerned about the state’s ability to fund pension benefits for public employees. ”
By Danielle Gains and Laura Olson, includes “Maryland could lose a $200 million chunk of federal stimulus funding meant to shore up state government, as the result of a provision in the federal law meant to limit the use of the stimulus to fund tax breaks.”
By Keith Daniels, includes “… Christopher Summers, a public policy expert at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, says the pandemic only complicates financial matters for a city reeling from financial troubles long before the pandemic's nearly one-year grip. One example includes a study by the non-profit ‘Truth in Accounting’ released in January last year.”
By Robby Soave, includes “In Montgomery County, Maryland, the public schools have remained closed since last March while many private schools have decided to open. But the county's vaccination plan prioritizes public school teachers over employees of private schools.”
Citing a lack of transparency and communication from Baltimore County Public Library leadership and seeking health care benefits for almost half the library system’s workforce, library employees are trying to unionize.