Budget Analysis Report
CAFR Budget Analysis Report – City of St. Louis, Missouri CAFR Budget Analysis Report
St. Louis first became legally incorporated as a town on November 9, 1809, though it elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808. On August 22, 1876 the City of St. Louis voted to secede from St. Louis County and become an independent city, a move that was not a healthy decision still today. A review of the budget for the City of St. Louis is located using the following link http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/comptroller/cafr07.html and pulling up the 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The following items are found in the CAFR: population; governmental structure; size of budget and its interrelationship with the CAFR; major industries located in the City of St. Louis and other pertinent demographic information.
Population
A quick glance at the economic outlook for St. Louis shows very little growth in the population over the last five years. In 2003, the population was around 2.6 million residents. In the 2007 CAFR, the population is just over 2.7 million. Part of the difficulty in assessing this growth is that many people have moved from the city into the suburbs, so 100,000 new people to the community may be more of an impact than the numbers would indicate. In 2003, job growth in the service sector was anticipated. By 2007, long-term growth projections had migrated to medical and business services as well as convention and tourism. This shift will likely bring more, better paying, jobs for a better educated group of individuals, which can have a lasting impact on the financial position of the city.
Government Structure The elected officials are part of the governmental structure of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The elected officials include the Mayor, the Comptroller, and the President of the Board of Alderman. The Board of Alderman are elected officials from each of the different wards. There are 28 different wards for
St. Louis first became legally incorporated as a town on November 9, 1809, though it elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808. On August 22, 1876 the City of St. Louis voted to secede from St. Louis County and become an independent city, a move that was not a healthy decision still today. A review of the budget for the City of St. Louis is located using the following link http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/comptroller/cafr07.html and pulling up the 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The following items are found in the CAFR: population; governmental structure; size of budget and its interrelationship with the CAFR; major industries located in the City of St. Louis and other pertinent demographic information.
Population
A quick glance at the economic outlook for St. Louis shows very little growth in the population over the last five years. In 2003, the population was around 2.6 million residents. In the 2007 CAFR, the population is just over 2.7 million. Part of the difficulty in assessing this growth is that many people have moved from the city into the suburbs, so 100,000 new people to the community may be more of an impact than the numbers would indicate. In 2003, job growth in the service sector was anticipated. By 2007, long-term growth projections had migrated to medical and business services as well as convention and tourism. This shift will likely bring more, better paying, jobs for a better educated group of individuals, which can have a lasting impact on the financial position of the city.
Government Structure The elected officials are part of the governmental structure of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The elected officials include the Mayor, the Comptroller, and the President of the Board of Alderman. The Board of Alderman are elected officials from each of the different wards. There are 28 different wards for
References: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (2007) The City of St. Louis. Retrieved May 2, 2008 from http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/comptroller/cafr07.html