{"id":2073723,"date":"2023-10-20T04:50:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T08:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/largest-bay-area-cities-rank-poorly-on-financial-health\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T04:54:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T08:54:30","slug":"largest-bay-area-cities-rank-poorly-on-financial-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/largest-bay-area-cities-rank-poorly-on-financial-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area&#8217;s Biggest Cities Fare Badly in Financial Health Ranking"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flargest-bay-area-cities-rank-poorly-on-financial-health%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2073723&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>The California \u2063Department of Transportation, affectionately known as Caltrans, divides the state up\u200b into 12 districts. District 12, \u200dOrange County, is a region to itself, with 34 cities. The Bay Area,\u2064 District 4, includes\u200d nine\u200c counties that touch San Francisco \u200dBay and \u200cholds 101 cities, more than one-fifth of California\u2019s cities. The counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Mar\u00edn, \u200cNapa, San Francisco, San Mateo,\u2062 Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.<\/p>\n<p>Where do these 101 cities stand financially? What is a good measure to obtain \u200dtheir fiscal temperature? And \u2063where can one obtain the information?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The easiest thing \u2062to do \u200cis \u2063to go to \u2064the city\u2019s website, look for the Finance Department, \u200dand click on its Annual Comprehensive Financial\u2064 Report \u2063(ACFR), \u2062also referred to as \u200bthe annual audited financial statements.<\/p>\n<p>You may be disappointed with some city websites, as\u2063 current \u200cinformation \u2062is not always posted. This\u200b could be due to one or more reasons. It took the outside auditors a couple of years \u200cto sign off on the city of San Diego\u2019s audit back in 2008, thanks\u200d to its pension funding crisis. And its \u20642003 ACFR was not issued until 2007. Or it could be poor \u200dmanagement, as noted in\u2064 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/elected-county-auditor-controllers-behaving-badly-5503459\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elected County Auditor-Controllers Behaving Badly<\/a>\u201d (Oct. 3). But\u2063 it explains why we\u2062 are looking at\u2064 2018 and 2019 \u200cfinancial statements in this analysis, as \u2063some\u200d cities\u2064 in other areas of the state still have not\u200b released their financial\u200b statements for 2019!<\/p>\n<p>Once you have found the ACFR, scroll down\u200b to\u2063 the Basic \u2063Financial Statements, then\u200b to the\u2063 Statement \u200cof Net Position. Go to the bottom of the page and find the \u201cUnrestricted\u201d amount for \u200cGovernmental Activities,\u2063 also \u200dreferred to as the Unrestricted Net Position (UNP). The ACFR may also provide the population of the city.\u200b Divide\u2063 the population into the UNP to obtain the per capita, which is the amount \u200bthat applies to each resident. This number will provide a\u2064 range that is \u2063useful for comparison purposes.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2063 chart \u2064below provides the rankings for\u2064 the\u200d cities by the Bay using\u200c this simple metric. There\u200b usually \u200cisn\u2019t much movement year over year in \u2064the rankings, but it is \u200chelpful to check for any significant\u200b changes. Let\u2019s discuss some of the cities that moved eight or more places to \u2064see what secrets they \u200bmay hold,\u2063 if any.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/10\/19\/id5513694-Bay-Area-City-Financial-Rankings-1200x2828.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/7-california-cities-on-list-of-top-10-for-priciest-real-estate-5240063\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">city of Atherton<\/a> \u2062 moved up 17 places by having a\u2062 successful year, where \u200cnet\u200d revenues after expenditures was some $8 \u2062million, helping the UNP \u2064to improve by $6.3 million. Burlingame, which\u2063 moved up nine places, had a similar story, with net\u200d revenues \u200dof $32.1\u2062 million, helping its UNP to increase by \u200d$19.3 million.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Newark \u200calso had a \u2063good year \u200bwith \u2063$17.8 million in net revenues. It also recharacterized $11.9\u2062 million out of \u200brestricted assets. Together\u200c it reduced\u200d its unrestricted\u200c net \u200cdeficit (UND) by $26.9 million. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/meet-americas-10-most-dangerous-cities-5504102\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sunnyvale<\/a>, meanwhile, enjoyed\u200b $85.7 million in net revenues, which \u200dwas \u200coffset by increasing its\u200b restricted \u2064assets by $28.2 million, resulting \u200din reducing its UND by $50 million.\n<\/div>\n<p>Brisbane almost tripled its UND with a simple accounting adjustment to\u200b its\u2062 Net Investments in \u2062Capital Assets of\u200b only \u200b$5.48\u2064 million, but enough\u2064 for this\u2063 small city to drop 23 places. Healdsburg dropped eight \u200cplaces in a combination of events, half of it like Brisbane, for an increase in its UND of $9.2 \u2063million.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Why all this detail? Because residents of California\u2019s cities should understand where their cities stand and the direction they are moving in. After \u2064I released my original report for 2019, \u200bwhile serving in the California State Senate, the \u200bresidents of Vacaville <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrepublic.com\/opinion\/local-opinion-columnists\/the-bottom-line-vacaville-group-backs-hunt-for-council\/article_ab276a30-158b-5d8d-b0e2-b8e3d7d56c3e.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">formed a citizens committee<\/a>. The Solano County Grand\u200b Jury\u2062 even issued a\u200c report\u200c on its poor standing (see \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thereporter.com\/2021\/05\/27\/grand-jury-report-urges-city-to-stay-on-top-of-unfunded-liabilities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grand Jury report urges city to stay\u200c on top of unfunded liabilities<\/a>,\u201d The\u2064 Reporter, May 27, 2021). Being in the \u200dbottom 10 percentile\u2063 of California\u2019s 482 cities was distressing for its citizens, as it should be.\n<\/div>\n<p>San Jose \u200dhas garnered\u200c significant media attention in the last two decades for its\u2063 unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities \u200bfor its defined benefit pension and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elected-county-auditor-controllers-behaving-badly\/\" title=\"Misbehaving Elected County Auditor-Controllers\">post-employment benefits<\/a>. The heart of Silicon Valley is in 94th place.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>A city and county that is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/san-francisco-surpasses-its-own-record-for-accidental-overdose-deaths-in-august-5496861\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">imploding<\/a> before\u200c our very eyes, San \u200cFrancisco, is in 98th place. And \u200da city\u200b that I \u200bfly into\u2063 often, \u200cOakland, finds the rental car employees <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/oakland-police-ask-residents-not-to-confront-auto-break-in-thieves-5505886\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">telling me \u200cnot to go to certain locations<\/a> for fear that \u2062a vehicle\u200c window will be busted and my luggage will be stolen. It\u2019s in 100th place. It makes one wonder how a city can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/largest-bay-area-cities-rank-poorly-on-financial-health\/\" title=\"Bay Area's Biggest Cities Fare Badly in Financial Health Ranking\">hire additional public\u200c safety officials<\/a> when it\u2019s so financially strapped?\n<\/div>\n<p>The year\u200b ending June 30, 2019, is \u2064also an interesting starting point, as \u200cthe next fiscal year will find every city impacted by the beginning of Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s drastic COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and the Federal government\u2019s disbursement of significant\u2064 financial assistance to \u2062states, \u2063counties,\u2063 cities, and other municipalities.<\/p>\n<p>In closing, if your city is one of the 38 in positive territory, thank your city council members, past \u200dand\u2064 present, for being fiscally astute in\u200d their elected roles. If your city is in the bottom 63, \u2064then challenge your city council members\u200c to\u200c step up their game and start moving the city\u2019s ranking \u2064up in the standings. Hopefully their answer is not to \u2063raise your taxes, but if\u200c it is, then you\u2019ll know why. You may want to \u2064enlarge your emergency fund reserves, as \u2064you\u2019ll be \u200dthe one paying the price for poor fiscal decisions by your city and \u200cits elected officials.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<em>Views expressed in this article \u200bare \u200copinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views \u2063of The Epoch \u2063Times.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>&#8211; What were the\u2063 primary factors that led to Stockton&#8217;s financial struggles and how is the\u2062 city recovering \u200dfrom bankruptcy?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ued liability (UAAL) in its pension\u200d plans, reaching\u200b over $3 billion in 2020. This liability has had a significant impact on the city&#8217;s financial \u2064position, and it is no surprise that\u200c San Jose ranks near the bottom of\u2063 our list. However, the city has been taking \u200dsteps to address this issue and has made \u2062progress in reducing its UAAL in recent years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Another city that has faced financial challenges is Stockton.\u200d In 2012, Stockton became the largest \u2062city in the country to file for bankruptcy. The city&#8217;s financial struggles were \u2062primarily due to \u2064a combination of high pension costs, declining \u2064revenues, and unsustainable spending. \u200bWhile Stockton has emerged from bankruptcy and has developed a plan to address its financial issues, it is still working \u200cto recover and \u200dimprove its financial standing.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>On the other end of the spectrum, \u2064we have cities \u200blike Palo Alto and Los Altos, which consistently rank among\u200c the top in \u2063terms of\u200d their financial position. These cities \u2063have strong tax bases, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chatgpt-built-a-stock-portfolio-outperforming-several-popular-funds\/\" title=\"ChatGPT's Stock Portfolio Beats Popular Funds.\">low debt levels<\/a>, and \u200dhealthy reserves. \u200dThey also benefit from a robust economy and high \u2062property values, which contribute to their \u200dstrong\u2064 financial position. <\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, understanding the financial health \u2062of\u200d California&#8217;s cities is crucial for residents and policymakers. By analyzing the annual\u2062 audited financial statements and comparing key metrics such as per capita unrestricted net position, we can gain \u2063insights into how well \u200ba city \u200dis managing its \u200cfinances. This information\u2062 can\u200d help identify\u2064 cities\u2062 that \u2063may be at\u2064 risk of financial instability\u200b and guide decision-making to \u200densure the long-term sustainability of our communities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/bay-area-city-rankings-rise-fall-2_5719699.html?utm_source=article&#038;utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_campaign=commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Read more: Bay Area City Rankings: \u2064Rise and Fall<\/strong><\/\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>divided into districts by Caltrans. Orange County, known as District 12, consists of 34 cities. District 4, the Bay Area, encompasses nine counties bordering San Francisco Bay and contains 101 cities, representing over 20% of California&#8217;s total cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2271,"featured_media":2073724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2073723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2073723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2073724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2073723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2073723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2073723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}