City officials returned to the Pio Pico Woman’s Club to share the State of the City report with club members during a regular club meeting held last month. This is the first State of the City report presented to the Pio Pico Woman’s Club since 2020.
City officials offered a positive outlook on the current state of the City as well as plans for the future. The City’s financial health continues to be in excellent condition. The major contributor to the City’s General Fund is the sales tax revenue which accounts for 49% of the City’s revenue. Other sources of revenue that contribute to the general fund include Property Tax, Utility Users Tax, Licenses and Permits, and other miscellaneous sources.
With that revenue, City officials continue to use a major portion on the City’s Public Safety, mainly the contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department which accounts for a quarter of the City’s budget. The commitment to safety is evident every year as City leaders express their willingness to aid the Sheriff’s Department in ensuring the Pico Rivera Station has all the available resources to keep the City safe.
The State of the City report also highlighted the City’s financial rankings with the State Auditor as well as our bond rating by Standard and Poor’s.
Earlier this year, we highlighted in the Profile that the California State Auditor’s report on the financially riskiest Cities in all of California ranked the City of Pico Rivera amongst the highest in the least riskiest Cities. The City improved its overall score from 82 to 84 out of a total of 100 possible points. With 430 Cities in California rated, Pico Rivera was labeled once again as a “low-risk” City, coming in at 284.
In addition to being one of the least financially riskiest cities, the City obtained a AA Bond Rating by Standard and Poor’s (S&P) after S&P evaluated the City’s creditworthiness for potential issuance of Pension Obligation Bonds. An S&P Global issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about a City’s creditworthiness related to a specific financial obligation. S&P commented on the stability of the City which noted a strong local economy and fiscal outlook, strong financial management policies and practices, including a risk-adjusted reserve policy enhanced in 2020, strong budgetary performance, and a resulting moderate leverage position (debt capacity).
The report also highlighted the City’s housing growth. Over the next couple of years, several housing developments will be completed including the 255-unit Mercury Project at the former El Rodeo site, and a 45-unit townhome development on Durfee Avenue. Two housing development projects were recently completed, a nine-unit townhome development on Gallatin, and a 12-unit townhome development on Telegraph.
Officials also noted other major projects coming to the City in the next few years. The highly anticipated Fiber Optic Network Project, a project to construct a privately-owned fiber optic system that will be open access, low cost to the consumer and available to every resident and business within the City, will begin construction later this year. Updates on other projects
including the Smith Park Aquatic Center, Rio Hondo Park, the PAD Park, and the Dog Park, were provided to the attendees.
“It’s a privilege to bring this report to the Pio Pico Woman’s Club and to show all the progress we have made in the last few years,” said City Manager Steve Carmona. “Like many cities, we
are still recovering from the pandemic. However, the City continues to grow with new housing developments, and we continue to improve on the City’s infrastructure. It’s exciting to talk about all the progress the City is making to this special group.”
