Includes “The treasurer said, ‘there are less people paying into the pension plan than are not,’ and went on to explain that not everyone paying into the plan is currently drawing a retirement check. ‘There are over 100,000 people who are vested in the [pension] plan and, for one reason or another, are not drawing a retirement check — yet,"
By Ned Barnett, includes “… The state has recently taken over the finances of the small towns of Robersonville, Eureka, Pikeville, Kingstown and the Cliffside Sanitary District in Rutherford County. Local governments have been subject to a takeover only five other times, all since the late 1990s.”
By Johnny Kampis, includes “… That may sound like a lot of money, but it’s all relative in the world of government pension debt. Bill Bergman research director for Truth in Accounting, a Chicago-based fiscal watchdog, told Carolina Journal the North Carolina debt is a drop in the bucket in juxtaposition to states like Illinois."
By Johnny Kampis, includes “In a move that will make government-employee pensions less risky for taxpayers, N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell announced Tuesday, Feb. 2, that the assumed rate of return on the main state retirement plan will be lowered.”
While an annual report from a financial watchdog shows most U.S. cities are poorly prepared to face the fiscal fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the three North Carolina cities examined showed stronger numbers.
Janet Gerald, mayor pro tem of Kingstown, knew high sewer costs were a financial strain for the town when she was took office three years ago. Still, the realization that the town needed to relinquish control of its spending hit her hard.
Consumption smoothing is the idea of reducing what one purchases in a time of plenty in order to buy more in lean times.
The person who manages most of state government’s financial assets — the $107 billion pension fund for state and local employees, for starters — is not an appointee of the governor. The voters of North Carolina elect a state treasurer every four years.
North Carolina's fiscal health before the COVID-19 pandemic was fair, and the state likely will come out of the current financial crisis in a worse situation, a new report says.
The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.
Congress raided Social Security, and that's why the program's trust fund is running dry. At least that's what many people believe about why this popular retirement program is in serious financial trouble. There's just one problem with this often-repeated theory: It's not true.
How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises?
State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, and the Financial Operations Division (FOD) of the Department of State Treasurer (DST) announced today that North Carolina has received another $1.5 billion from the federal government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Truth in Accounting (TIA) released data that shows 75 most populous cities according to their finances. According to the data, Raleigh was ranked 11th on this list, with surplus funds per taxpayer estimated to be around $1,400. The data compiled a list of cities with the highest number of the population according to the city’s surplus or liability.
As global markets continue to plunge amid fears that the new coronavirus will slow economies in the U.S. and abroad, some North Carolina investors aren't seeing a major dent in their portfolios.
An analysis of North Carolina’s Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) says that despite it being one of the best funded systems in the country, it has several weaknesses, such as overly optimistic return assumptions that “could jeopardize its fiscal health in the long run.”
Two of North Carolina’s major cities are among a dozen of the nation's 75 most populous cities with a financial surplus, according to a new report. Charlotte ranked third and Raleigh ranked 11th in the Truth in Accounting's new Financial State of the Cities report released last week.
In 378 U.S. counties, voter registration rates exceed 100% of the adult population, meaning there are more voter registrations on file than the total voting-age population
After an audit of the 2017-2018 fiscal year, Pender County was marked “high risk” for internal control issues in its accounting procedures, including budget violations, understated assets for water plants totaling $38.3 million, and missing documentation for personnel files.
“… The LGC letter said the analysis revealed areas of concern, including that the town’s fund balance ‘is substantially less than comparable units and may be too low to provide the necessary resources you need.’ … Local governments, including a county, city or town, are required to maintain a healthy fund balance but if it drops to below 8 percent, the Local Government Commission can take over the running of that local government. A fund balance, which is a savings fund, ensures a local government has at least enough money to operate for a month.”