Santa Clarita is in the top five percent of fiscally healthy cities, the city said in a press release Tuesday.
State Auditor Elaine Howle recently released her findings of California’s most distressed cities. The analysis has been described as a first-of-its-kind dashboard developed in the wake of the Bell scandal.
Howle examined 471 out of 482 cities’ cash flow and reserves, pension liabilities, retirement, revenue forecasts, and debt burden (11 cities could not be analyzed). Her office found 18 cities at high fiscal risk, another 236 at moderate risk, and 217 at low risk based on 2016-2017 financial data.
You can see a breakdown of the most vulnerable cities here, including their biggest fiscal challenges. Compton, Atwater, Blythe, Lindsay, and Calexico ranked in the top five for risk.
“Under the leadership and financial stewardship of our City Council, we pride ourselves on fiscal responsibility, and we continue to maintain a healthy and sustainable budget,” said Santa Clarita City Manager Ken Striplin. “This report demonstrates that we have been successful. There is no doubt that the City is in good financial standing and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that it stays that way through our conservative budget practices.”