California’s auditor says 18 of the state’s cities are “fiscally challenged.”
Elaine Howle on Thursday released a ranking of the financial health of 471 California cities. Of those, 18 cities were high risk for financial problems, 236 were moderate risk and 217 were low risk.
Of the high risk cities, Compton in Southern California was ranked No. 1 followed by Atwater, Blythe, Lindsay and Calexico. Oakland was No. 13.
The auditor’s office used 10 indicators to rank the cities, including whether the city has enough money to pay its bills, how much debt it has and if the city can pay its retirement benefits.
Of the 471 cities, Howle said 337 were not setting aside enough money to pay retirement health and dental benefits for their employees.