Financial Trends. You are a new city council person for the City of Scottsdale. Arizona. You are aware that several cities have been in the news recently for financial crises for which the council or board is being held accountable. The governing bodies have been criticized for not being aware of the negative signals and trends that obviously contributed to challenging financial situations. Although you were assured at the first few council meetings that the city was overall in good financial shape, you want to be sure you “do your homework” and assess the financial condition of the city for yourself. You know that the City of Scottsdale. Arizona, prepares a Financial Trends report each year based on the ICMA’s Financial Trends Monitoring System and that it posts this on its Web site at www.scottsdaleaz.gov.
Required
a. Go to the city’s Web site and view a copy of the Financial Trends report.
b. Prepare a list of questions for the next city council meeting. Your questions should help you focus on whether you and the other council members should be concerned about any negative trends.