RubinBrown Public Sector Stats 2011

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. The chart to the right displays a breakdown of participating municipalities by region: All 34 of the St. Louis municipalities participating in this year’s survey also participated in last year’s survey. Of the 24 Kansas City municipalities participating, 22 also participated in last year’s survey. As stated previously, this is the first year Denver Front Range municipalities are included in the survey. Format of the Report

Participants

37

37

40

35

34

30

33

24

23

27

19

20

15

13

22

13

7

0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

St. Louis Kansas City Denver

The ratio results are presented separately for the St. Louis, Kansas City and Denver regions. Information for the St. Louis metropolitan area is further segmented by population greater than or less that 20,000. This is due primarily because of the unique demographics of the St. Louis region, which includes over 90 municipalities, many of which are small. The average population of the cities included in the St. Louis region was 22,600. Sixteen of those cities were greater than 20,000 and 18 were less than 20,000. This compares to the average population of 44,900 for cities surveyed in the Kansas City regions and 98,300 for those in the Denver Front Range 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 that section of the report. The conclusions reached as to which results are more or less favorable are based upon the judgment of RubinBrown, 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 your city has a large non resident population it serves due to a significant daily influx of workers. Analysis Average Change in Net Assets (All Cities)

10%

If there is one theme that pervades the results of this year’s survey, it is the continued weakness of the American economy. As a result of the recession and the slow economic recovery, municipal governments have faced decreased tax and grant revenue without a corresponding decrease in the demand for municipal services. This has resulted in substantially slower growth in net assets for municipal governments, as evidenced by the chart to the right:

8%

7.9%

6%

5.8%

4%

4.6%

2%

1.6%

0%

2007

2008

2009

2010

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