RubinBrown Public Sector Stats 2013

Executive Summary

The conclusions reached as to which results are more or less favorable are based upon what is most commonly accepted in the industry while 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 spent on public safety as favorable, whereas our analysis places this in a less favorable quartile. In addition, per capita ratios may be adversely affected if a city serves a large non-resident population due to a significant daily influx of workers. Use of the Study Finance officers may use the study to determine how their cities compare to others of similar size and geographic area in key financial ratio measurements. Both quartile and average ratio values are provided for comparison. The finance officer may wish to share the results of the analysis with the municipality’s chief executive officer and governing body to help key officials understand the impact of decisions on the financial condition of municipality.

Average Change in Net Position (All Regions)

Analysis The results of this year’s survey seem to indicate that 2012 was a year of continued recovery, but at a much slower pace than in 2011. After several years of decreases in tax and grant revenues, these amounts increased slightly as the economy continued to rebound. However costs also grew at a faster pace in 2012. This has resulted in continued net position growth for municipal governments, but at a slower pace in 2012, as evidenced by the chart on the left: Fund balance of the general fund is generally a focal point of a city’s financial health, at least from a short- term perspective. Surprisingly, unrestricted fund balance, which includes assigned and unassigned fund balance categories as defined in GASB Statement No. 54, has remained relatively stable since 2007 as a percent of total revenues in the general fund, in spite of the economic recession that has taken place during that timeframe.

15%

7.9%

10%

5.8%

5.2%

4.6%

3.2%

5%

1.6%

0%

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2007

Unrestricted General Fund Balance as a Percent of Revenue

70%

58.1% 59.2%

60%

50.5% 51.7%

50.0%

50%

44.1%

40%

36.2%

35.7%

35.4% 34.8%

39.5%

32.2%

34.0%

30%

33.0%

30.9%

20%

10%

0%

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

St. Louis

Kansas City

Colorado

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