Politics & Government
Utah State Finances get a "B" Grade!
State finances are in good health in Utah, but there is still hidden debt.
Utah's elected officials, unlike those in many other states, have only promised the amount of benefits they can afford to pay. Because of this, Utah’s state finances are in good health. The state has enough money to pay all of its bills and a surplus of $3.8 billion, according to Truth in Accounting's (TIA) analysis of Utah's most recent financial filings. When broken down, this equates to a taxpayer surplus of $4,600 for each Utah taxpayer, which makes it is a Sunshine State according to TIA.
These statistics about Utah are not bad, but what’s troubling is that state government officials continue to obscure large amounts of retirement debt on their balance sheets, despite new rules to increase financial transparency. This skewed financial data gives state residents a false impression of their state's overall financial health.
Truth in Accounting is a Chicago-based nonprofit think tank that analyzes state financial reports when they are published. According to their report for 2016, Utah has $10.5 billion of assets available to pay the state's bills totaling $6.6 billion. This means that Utah has $3.8 billion available after bills have been paid, which breaks down to $4,600 per taxpayer. TIA's Taxpayer Surplusâ„¢ measurement incorporates both assets and liabilities, not just pension debt.
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Because of an accounting rule implemented last year, Utah had to report its pension debt on its balance sheet. This year, the state's reported pension debt grew from $1.1 billion in 2015 to $1.4 billion in 2016. Despite reporting most of its pension debt, the state is still hiding retiree health care debt. Utah's total hidden debt amounts to $201.8 million. A new accounting standard will be implemented in two years that will require states to report this debt on the balance sheet as well.
The bottom line is that Utah has enough money to pay its bills, so it has received a "B" for its finances from Truth in Accounting. A "B" grade is given to states with a taxpayer surplusâ„¢ between $100 & $5,000.
See how Utah compares to Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming: http://www.statedatalab.org/c/c03K2Ow29f2b075
Click on the link to go to an interactive chart at Truth in Accounting’s State Data Lab.