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
2019 California’s 940 School Districts Rankings
2019 California’s 940 School Districts Rankings
Use the Search Bar below to search for a specific school district’s ranking.
By John Moorlach
2019 California’s 482 Cities Rankings
2019 California’s 482 Cities Rankings
*The 2019 rankings are still in process as several cities are still preparing their 2019 audits. Use the Search Bar below to search for a specific cities ranking.
By John Moorlach
2018 CALIFORNIA’S 482 CITIES RANKINGS
2018 CALIFORNIA’S 482 CITIES RANKINGS
Use the Search Bar below to search for a specific cities ranking.
By John Moorlach
2018 California’s 940 School District Rankings
2018 California’s 940 School District Rankings
Use the Search Bar below to search for a specific school district’s ranking.
By John Moorlach