(The Center Square) – According to a report released Thursday, three of Ohio’s four largest cities do not have enough money to cover all of their outstanding bills.
Only Cleveland operates in a taxpayer surplus, according to the Truth in Accounting Financial State of the Cities Report, while Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo taxpayers all face a tax burden of thousands of dollars.
“The good news is that, unlike most cities in the study, the cities set aside money to pay promised retiree health care benefits, so future taxpayers will not be burdened as much with paying for the benefits of people who worked for prior taxpayers,” Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting said.
The report ranked cities based on data from the fiscal year 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports from the nation’s 75 largest municipalities and ranked them with this grading scale:
A grade: Taxpayer Surplus greater than $10,000: one city.B grade: Taxpayer Surplus between $5,000 and $9,999: 21 cities.C grade: Taxpayer Burden between $0 and $4,999: 26 cities.D grade: Taxpayer Burden between $5,000 and $20,000: 22 cities.F grade: Taxpayer Burden greater than $20,000: five cities.