Aurora and Colorado Springs are in “healthy financial condition” while Denver is in “bad fiscal shape,” according to a new report on the financial health of the 75 largest cities in the U.S.
The report, entitled “Financial State of the Cities 2022,” was compiled by Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit fiscal policy organization, which used data from the fiscal year 2020 audited financial reports on file in city halls across the country.
In all, the report found that the total financial debt of the 75 largest cities amounted to $357 billion when fiscal 2020 concluded, an increase of more than $23.5 billion from the year prior.
“The bottom line is that the majority of cities went into the pandemic in poor fiscal health and they will most likely come out of it even worse,” Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting, said in a statement.
Only 14 cities had a taxpayer surplus, according to the report, including Aurora, which ranked No. 5 with a $2,600 surplus per taxpayer, and Colorado Springs, which ranked 12th with a surplus of $300 per taxpayer.
Denver ranked 37th with a taxpayer burden of $4,600.
The organization calculates a taxpayer surplus by dividing the amount of money a city has leftover after paying all of its bills by the number of taxpayers. Conversely, taxpayer burdens are calculated by dividing the amount of money a city needs to pay its bills by the number of taxpayers it represents, according to the report’s methodology.
The report pointed to Aurora’s pension plan investments earning “higher than expected” returns last year as one reason for its fiscal health.
Denver’s financial decisions regarding its pension fund investments are the reason for its poorer ranking. The report said the city has set aside just $0.74 for every dollar promised to pension benefits and just $0.24 for every dollar of health care benefits as well.
This article was originally posted on Aurora, Colorado Springs in ‘healthy financial condition’; Denver in ‘bad fiscal shape’