(The Center Square) The news keeps getting better for Cleveland taxpayers, but it’s a different story for those in Ohio’s other major cities.
Truth in Accounting on Thursday released its annual Financial State of Cities report that measures individual tax burdens and the ability of 75 cities across the country to pay their bills.
To calculate individual tax burdens, along with tax surpluses, the organization divided the total money needed to pay a city’s bills by the number of city taxpayers as provided by the IRS.
“This year’s research indicates that as the U.S. economy continues to recover, cities have reported revenues surpassing their expenses,” the report said. “However, the growing burden of unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities has overshadowed these financial gains. These liabilities now account for more than half of the cities’ noncapital debt and are laden with risks and uncertainties that often lie beyond the control of legislators, taxpayers, and even those managing the plans.”
In Ohio, Cleveland taxpayers are doing better than any other in the state and most of the rest of the country.
Cleveland ranked as one of Truth in Accounting’s Top Five Sunshine Cities with a $2,900 taxpayer surplus. Only Washington, D.C., ($9,000), Lincoln, Neb., ($4,300), Irvine, Calif., ($4,200), and Tampa ($3,400) were better.
Cleveland received a financial grade of “B.”
Cleveland jumped from 21st to fifth in only one year after its financial condition improved by $366.4 million as revenues were higher than expenses by $323 million. The report credits the improvement to higher market returns, and the city’s share of Ohio’s pension system debt fell as unrealized losses from 2022 moved into unrealized gains in 2023.
Cincinnati ranked as Ohio’s worst in the report and among the worst overall at 66 out of 75, with a financial grade of D.
The report showed taxpayers in Ohio’s Queen City with a taxpayer burden of $13,400, primarily because of the doubling of the Cincinnati Retirement System pension debt.
Both Columbus and Toledo finished in the middle of the pack.
Columbus ranked 37th with a financial grade of C. Taxpayers in the city have a burden of $2,000, better than the last report.
Toledo ranked 38th, also with a grade of C. Taxpayers have a $2,200 burden, a notable improvement over last year, according to the report.
