RubinBrown Public Sector Municipal Stats 2018

STATE OF TENNESSEE

53,000 AVERAGE POPULATION

8.2% MEDIAN CHANGE IN NET POSITION

33 NUMBER OF

MUNICIPALITIES

Our trend analysis is limited for Tennessee municipalities as we enter our third year of surveying cities in the region. However, most of the financial ratios show many cities have very healthy financial positions and have experienced positive results of operations. For instance, the median change in net position has averaged a healthy 8.2% over the past three years. This is much higher than results in other regions surveyed. The median liquidity ratio however is much lower than the other regions surveyed and was even below 1.0 for 2015 and 2016. Being below 1.0 means many governments have more current liabilities than liquid assets and may find it difficult to continue to pay off current liabilities as they become due. The median rose to 1.19 in 2017, which is a positive improvement from the prior two years. Median tax revenue per capita for Tennessee municipalities has averaged $823 over the past three years. Growth in tax revenues was comparable to growth in 2017 expenses, causing continued increases in net position. The median ratio for general fund unrestricted fund balance as a percent of expenditures rose significantly in 2016 from 35.7% in 2015 to 46.8% in 2016, with a slight decrease in 2017. This is above average and exceeds the GFOA recommendation of 20%. The 2016 and 2017 ratio reflects an unrestricted fund balance equivalent to over five months of operating expenditures in the general fund.

Unrestricted General Fund Balance as % of Expenditures (median – all cities)

35.7%

2015

46.8%

2016

42.7%

2017

35% 40% 45% 50%

Median Dollars Per Capita

$1,500

$1,279

$1,204

Tax Revenue Expenses Total Debt

$1,158

$1,250

$1,000

$892

$831

$805

$834

$750

$779

$790

$500

2015

2016

2017

RubinBrown Public Sector Municipal Stats 2018

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