RubinBrown Public Sector Stats 2012

Executive Summary

As was the case in the five previous editions of the survey, the study includes results for municipalities in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, the survey includes results for municipalities in the state of Colorado as well. As a result, the 2012 survey is the first to offer current year and prior year comparative results for all three regions. All cities included in the data have populations greater than 5,000. Additionally, the cities of St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver are excluded from the study due to their size relative to the other municipalities. Finally, for purposes of this study, metropolitan St. Louis includes municipalities in both Missouri and Illinois, metropolitan Kansas City includes municipalities in both Kansas and Missouri and Colorado consists of municipalities in the entire state with emphasis in the greater Denver area.

Methodology The RubinBrown Public Sector Services Group contacted the finance officers from the participating municipalities requesting financial information for their ratio calculations. Financial information was collected from the 2011 fiscal year or calendar year Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), or from the 2011 audited financial statements if no CAFR was prepared. All municipalities included in the study prepare financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Key financial ratios were calculated in three categories: government-wide (governmental activities only), governmental funds, and general fund information. Each participant in the survey received customized financial statistics to use as an analysis tool. Of the 39 St. Louis municipalities participating in this year’s survey, 33 also participated in last year’s survey. Of the 23 Kansas City municipalities participating, 22 also participated in last year’s survey. Of the 31 Colorado municipalities participating, 21 also participated in last year’s survey.

Number of City Participants by Region

50

39

37

37

40

35

34

31

30

30

24

23

23

19

20

22

15

13

10

0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

St. Louis

Kansas City

Colorado

Format of the Report The ratio results are presented separately for the St. Louis, Kansas City and Colorado regions. The average population of the cities included in the St. Louis region was 22,000. This compares to the average population of 46,900 for cities surveyed in the Kansas City region and 77,600 for those in the Colorado region. For each ratio presented, the report presents information both by quartile and average. The computed values for each ratio were sorted from more favorable to less favorable and quartiles were determined. The quartile information is presented by displaying the ratio value that separates each quartile. For a description and interpretation of the ratios, please refer to pages 10-12. The conclusions reached as to which results are more or less favorable are based upon the judgment of RubinBrown using a financial perspective, taking into consideration what the majority of cities are likely to believe. Each statistic may be viewed differently or may be more or less meaningful based upon each city’s situation. For example, a small city may view a large amount of funding being

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