California Has Largest Unrestricted Net Deficit in US
California Has Largest Unrestricted Net Deficit in US
The California State Controller released the audit of California’s financial statements, performed by the State Auditor for the year ending June 30, 2022, on March 15. The annual comprehensive financial report should have been issued some 15 months sooner. Looking at the document, we are immediately informed on the first page of the Report Overview...
By John Moorlach
Long Overdue Financial Report for California Brings Bad News
Long Overdue Financial Report for California Brings Bad News
When it comes to the reporting of the accounting of our 50 states, two main concerns can be observed. The first is the delinquency rate of several states. For the fiscal year June 30, 2022, 20 states released their audited financial statements within six months. There are four states that deviate from the norm, with...
By John Moorlach
Which Bay Area Cities Need to Improve Their Fiscal Status?
Which Bay Area Cities Need to Improve Their Fiscal Status?
The state of California has 58 counties and 482 cities. To provide manageable fiscal rankings, I’ve divided the state into eight regions, closely following the districts established by Caltrans. The Bay Area, Caltrans District 4, has 101 cities. The rankings for 2020 are compared to those of 2019 in the graph below. For an explanation...
By John Moorlach
Newsom Provides False Commentary on His Budget Priorities
Newsom Provides False Commentary on His Budget Priorities
Having served on the California State Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee during my six years in Sacramento, I was recently challenged to take a closer look at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget. I started with his Jan. 10, 2024, budget message to the members of the California State Legislature. I was not amused. It...
By John Moorlach
Newsom’s Missed Opportunity on California’s Annual Budgets
Newsom’s Missed Opportunity on California’s Annual Budgets
During my business career as a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner, I also served on a credit counseling nonprofit board and advised those who were deep in debt on a plan toward becoming fiscally sound again. During a good financial year, these individuals needed to dramatically reduce their existing debts. The unexpected bonus...
By John Moorlach
Is the Price for Community Choice Electricity Reasonable?
Is the Price for Community Choice Electricity Reasonable?
It’s impressive how many different preferences people can have. Although bottled water is ubiquitous today, in the late 1970s, those living a conspicuous lifestyle purchased bottled water, like Perrier, to show off their success and affluence, while emphasizing healthy living practices and hygiene. Most business offices had a water cooler and were willing to pay...
By John Moorlach
Will Another Sales Tax Increase Really Help This Southern California City?
Will Another Sales Tax Increase Really Help This Southern California City?
The city of Westminster is pursuing the easy road to address its continuing fiscal mismanagement, again. It’s asking its residents to approve yet another sales tax increase, the second in the last two years. It’s much easier to tell those voting in Westminster that there will be more potholes and less public safety if they...
By John Moorlach
2 California Cities Still Late on Preparing Financial Audits for 2019
2 California Cities Still Late on Preparing Financial Audits for 2019
California has 482 cities and towns. They provide audited financial statements of their fiscal status every year, just like publicly traded companies and most businesses and nonprofits of significant stature. Finance hawks celebrated when the California State Auditor established a dashboard to review the fiscal status of the state’s cities and towns. The cheering subsided...
By John Moorlach
Fiscal Rankings for Los Angeles County’s 88 Cities Finally Available, for 2020
Fiscal Rankings for Los Angeles County’s 88 Cities Finally Available, for 2020
The city of Huntington Park, California has finally released its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the year ending June 30, 2020. The audit by external independent auditors was finally completed on Aug. 10, but was not released until Dec. 5. Thus, Huntington Park won the race for dead last in transparency and accountability among...
By John Moorlach
How Alleged Corruption Can Stun a City
How Alleged Corruption Can Stun a City
In their book, “Bridgebuilders: How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems,” William Eggers and Donald Kettl make a simple observation: “Accountability and trust go hand in hand.” What if a government doesn’t provide transparency that allows for accountability? It makes building trust very difficult. What happens when a government is so shell-shocked from...
By John Moorlach
When Will California Quit Holding Up Annual Fiscal Rankings?
When Will California Quit Holding Up Annual Fiscal Rankings?
There are several metrics that can be used to effectively rank the fiscal status of our nation’s 50 states. The top resource for years, when one searched for this information, was the Mercatus School at George Mason University. US News & World Report has and continues to provide an annual ranking of the states. The...
By John Moorlach
California State Auditor Removes Fiscal Accountability Dashboard
California State Auditor Removes Fiscal Accountability Dashboard
California’s fiscal accountability dashboard for cities, which was implemented in 2019 and identified local governments with financial problems, was taken down last month. Why? First, some background. The County of Orange in Southern California incurred an infamous fiscal calamity in the closing month of 1994 that resulted in nearly $1.7 billion in investment losses. It...
By John Moorlach
A Surplus of Nonsense in the Governor’s Latest Budget
A Surplus of Nonsense in the Governor’s Latest Budget
There are two big days for a California governor, January 10 when the budget is presented and the May Revise when a few months of additional data and debate have passed. They’re both political documents, allowing governors to play with numbers. Few governors have been as sporting in that enterprise as Gavin Newsom. Last week,...
By John Moorlach