A Monthly Message from the City Manager Ken Striplin City in Good Financial Standing

While many cities in the Golden State are dealing with the struggle of funding pension and other post-employment benefits, Santa Clarita remains on solid financial footing, and that is not by accident. Through the leadership of the Santa Clarita City Council and our professional City staff, Santa Clarita is in excellent financial condition.
Since our incorporation in 1987, the City of Santa Clarita has always maintained an on-time, balanced budget with ample reserves. Thanks to smart spending and conservative budgeting, our City continues to thrive, while residents enjoy the high quality of life for which this City is known.
A recent report from the California State Auditor ranked the City of Santa Clarita in the top five percent of fiscally healthy cities. The report compares the fiscal health of 470 cities based on 10 financial indicators. Santa Clarita received a low-risk designation, and received perfect scores in the categories of liquidity, general fund reserves, and in both pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) obligations, receiving a total combined score of 92.77.
The report placed high, moderate or low-risk designations on each city with regard to fiscal confidence. The findings showed that 18 cities ended up with the high-risk designations, while 236 cities received moderate and 217 cities, including Santa Clarita, received low-risk marks.
This success is thanks to the leadership and financial stewardship of our City Council, whose mantra has always been, “The decisions we make during the good times are more important than the decisions we make during the bad times.” This ranking reflects the City’s ability to stay true to our day-to-day business practices and values that help to make Santa Clarita a special place for doing business, raising a family and enjoying a superior quality of life.