St. Louis, Missouri ranks #69 in TIA’s latest report

A new report on the financial condition of the 75 most populous cities ranks St. Louis no.69 in the nation for fiscal health. The report is based on the cities’ 2021 annual comprehensive financial reports, which are not analyzed on this scale by any other organization.

The analysis by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a nonprofit government finance watchdog group, found St. Louis would need $1.6 billion to get out of the red, or $18,000 from each of its taxpayers.

According to the fiscal watchdog's annual Financial State of the Cities report, St. Louis had $2.84 billion in bills and only $1.21 billion in available assets to pay those bills after capital and restricted assets are excluded. This resulted in a $1.6 billion shortfall, or a $18,000 Taxpayer Burden™, which is each taxpayer's share of the municipal debt after the city's available assets have been tapped.

After the Covid-pandemic, in large part due to unrealized gains in stock market valuation of its pension investments and federal government stimulus money, St. Louis’ financial condition appeared to improve. Despite apparent improvements, St. Louis had a Taxpayer Burden™ of $18,000, earning it a “D” grade from Truth in Accounting.

The city’s elected officials have repeatedly made financial decisions that left the city with a debt burden of $1.6 billion. St. Louis’ financial problems stem mostly from unfunded retirement obligations that accumulated over the years. While the city’s fiscal year end was June 30, 2021, its retirement systems’ liabilities were measured as of September 30, 2020, before the large gains in the markets. Using the old data as the source, the city had set aside only 75 cents for every dollar of promised pension benefits. No money has been set aside to pay the $654.5 million of retiree health care benefits city employees and retirees have already earned.

You can read the full report here and St. Louis' individual report here.