RubinBrown Public Sector Stats 2015

Executive Summary

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.

Analysis The results of this year’s survey seem to indicate that 2014 was a year of continued growth, but at a consistently slower pace since 2011. After several years of decreases in revenues, these amounts increased as the economy began to rebound in 2011. As the average change in net position graph shows, during 2013 and continuing into 2014, revenue continued to grow in most regions while costs grew at a faster pace compared to revenues. This has resulted in steady net position growth for municipal governments in Denver and Kansas City, but at a slower pace. St. Louis’ growth has actually deteriorated the past three years. In the analysis that follows, the results for each metropolitan area are examined, with an emphasis placed on the impact of current economic conditions upon each metropolitan area. 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

9.0%

8.6%

8.0%

7.0%

6.6%

6.0%

5.0%

4.7%

4.0%

3.1%

2.9%

2.9%

3.2%

2.8%

Denver Kansas City St. Louis

3.0%

3.0%

2.0%

2.2%

1.9%

1.9%

1.3%

1.0%

0.4%

0.2%

0.0%

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

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