RubinBrown Public Sector Stats 2013

Executive Summary

The study includes results for municipalities in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas as well as results for municipalities in the state of Colorado.

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 has a substantial practice in each of the three regions and is a leader in providing accounting and auditing services to governments. The financial information was collected from the 2012 fiscal year or calendar year Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), or from the 2012 audited financial statements if no CAFR was prepared.

Number of City Participants by Region

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. This year we had increased participation in all three regions. Of the 41 St. Louis municipalities participating in this year’s survey, 38 also participated in last year’s survey. One municipality did not participate again this year, and three new municipalities from Illinois were added. Of the 24 Kansas City municipalities participating, 23 also participated in last year’s survey and 1 new city was added. Of the 36 Colorado municipalities participating, 31 also participated in last year’s survey and 5 new cities were added.

50

41

39

37

37

40

35

34

31

30

36

30

24

24

23

23

19

20

22

15

13

10

0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

2012

St. Louis

Kansas City

Colorado

Format of the Report The ratios 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 21,400. This compares to the average population of 45,300 for cities surveyed in the Kansas City region and 73,100 for those in the Colorado region. With respect to the regions themselves, the population of the state of Colorado is over 5 million, the Kansas City metropolitan area is just over 2.1 million and the St Louis metropolitan area is approximately 2.4 million. In general, the St. Louis area has a greater number of smaller cities than the other regions. 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 the “Financial Ratio Interpretations” section of the report.

RubinBrown Public Sector Stats 2013 | 1