O’CONNOR ISSUES FIRST ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT

O’CONNOR ISSUES FIRST ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT

Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor issued his first Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the full and audited accounting of the financial standing of the County and its component units.

“The Comprehensive report is a significant undertaking for our office each year, especially our Accounting section, and provides a detailed assessment of the County’s assets and expenditures. My sincere thanks to our staff who produce this important product. We look forward to providing pertinent and timely updates on our government’s finances moving forward,” O’Connor said.

Among notable findings:

  • Emergency federal funding approved in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including nearly $381 million from the American Rescue Plan in 2021-22, has prevented depletion of the County’s General and Debt Service fund balance for the past several years. This combined balance grew to $118.4 million at the close of 2022 from $111.2 million the prior year.
  • County revenue rebounded to nearly pre-pandemic levels to $851.3 million from $834.7 million in 2021, with some of the largest increases coming in interest income due to increased rates (up $4.8 million), Sales Tax (up $3.8 million), and $6.4 million retained for the County Parks (up $5.5 million) from a resurgent Hotel Tax.
  • Expenditures increased by $16.8 million to $845.1 million, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The spending increase was primarily due to increased debt service payments. Debt payments are expected to increase another $2.5 million annually moving forward.
  • Average daily occupancy in County’ Kane Community Living Centers fell to 600 (below 52 percent capacity) from over 900 in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Expenditures outstripped revenues by over $19.5 million in each of the last two years, a deficit that stood at under $4 million as recently as 2018
  • The County’s pension fund maintained only one-third of assets to liabilities, which marked a slight improvement from 2021 but remains unhealthy.

The Comprehensive report is accompanied by the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), a reader-friendly distillation of information from the Comprehensive report. The PAFR updates an Annual Report issued last month which utilized final, unaudited 2022 financial statements.

“As our government approaches changes in leadership and challenging decisions that will help to define its future, only the Controller’s office can provide reliable, unbiased and comprehensive information on our financial standing to our policymakers and residents. This will be crucial in navigating challenges such as the expiration of federal emergency aid, attracting and retaining workers, and approaching the future of the County’s public safety functions compassionately and effectively,” O’Connor wrote in an introduction to the PAFR.

View the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and the Popular Annual Financial Report with interactive charts and graphs at here.