Where the numbers come from
All figures are for the City of Joliet's total primary government (governmental plus business-type activities), in millions of dollars unless noted. They are taken from the city's own audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFRs), fiscal years 2011 through 2024: the Management's Discussion & Analysis condensed statements, the government-wide Statement of Net Position, the capital-assets note, the enterprise-fund statements, and the statistical-section debt schedules. The seven indicators follow the Strong Towns Finance Decoder method.
Raw inputs ($ millions)
| Year | Cash & other | Capital (net) | Total assets | Def. outflows | Total liab. | Def. inflows | Net position | Total revenue | Capital cost | Accum. deprec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 178.1 | 652.2 | 830.3 | 0.0 | 196.4 | 32.6 | 601.3 | 209.6 | 971.1 | 318.9 |
| 2012 | 177.3 | 663.3 | 840.6 | 1.7 | 209.7 | 34.9 | 597.7 | 221.1 | 1004.1 | 340.9 |
| 2013 | 177.6 | 669.1 | 846.7 | 1.3 | 216.4 | 35.0 | 596.6 | 227.6 | 1036.4 | 367.3 |
| 2014 | 172.0 | 668.5 | 840.5 | 0.8 | 219.5 | 35.1 | 586.7 | 222.5 | 1062.4 | 393.9 |
| 2015 | 169.4 | 707.9 | 877.3 | 35.2 | 620.0 | 43.7 | 248.8 | 224.3 | 1128.6 | 420.7 |
| 2016 | 157.7 | 728.3 | 886.0 | 26.6 | 633.1 | 52.7 | 226.8 | 233.6 | 1176.7 | 448.3 |
| 2017 | 171.7 | 752.4 | 924.1 | 45.3 | 669.5 | 89.3 | 210.6 | 245.1 | 1229.8 | 477.4 |
| 2018 | 184.5 | 785.8 | 970.3 | 102.5 | 1068.7 | 100.6 | -96.5 | 242.5 | 1288.6 | 502.7 |
| 2019 | 206.8 | 801.5 | 1008.3 | 180.6 | 1194.7 | 125.6 | -131.4 | 257.0 | 1334.6 | 533.1 |
| 2020 | 219.7 | 826.0 | 1045.7 | 273.0 | 1345.5 | 145.6 | -172.4 | 263.2 | 1390.5 | 564.4 |
| 2021 | 290.8 | 854.6 | 1145.4 | 216.8 | 1265.4 | 229.7 | -132.9 | 333.3 | 1450.8 | 596.2 |
| 2022 | 463.7 | 940.7 | 1404.4 | 277.4 | 1524.5 | 288.0 | -130.7 | 345.2 | 1572.2 | 631.5 |
| 2023 | 519.3 | 1134.5 | 1653.8 | 236.4 | 1670.3 | 246.4 | -26.5 | 442.8 | 1805.9 | 671.5 |
| 2024 | 476.4 | 1216.3 | 1692.7 | 146.1 | 1480.4 | 383.7 | -25.3 | 359.3 | 1927.8 | 711.6 |
Net position is the audited bottom line; net financial position (below) subtracts capital assets from it. Capital cost is gross (before depreciation). 2023 total revenue includes a one-time $99.8M donated bridge (the Houbolt Road Bridge).
The seven indicators
Each value runs 2011 → 2024, left to right.
Net financial position ($M) = net position − net capital assets
-50.9, -65.6, -72.5, -81.8, -459.1, -501.5, -541.8, -882.3, -932.9, -998.4, -987.5, -1071.4, -1161.0, -1241.6
Net debt ÷ revenue
0.24, 0.30, 0.32, 0.37, 2.05, 2.15, 2.21, 3.64, 3.63, 3.79, 2.96, 3.10, 3.38, 3.46
Financial assets ÷ liabilities
0.778, 0.732, 0.712, 0.679, 0.308, 0.269, 0.286, 0.245, 0.293, 0.330, 0.340, 0.409, 0.394, 0.334
Total assets ÷ liabilities
4.23, 4.01, 3.91, 3.83, 1.42, 1.40, 1.38, 0.91, 0.84, 0.78, 0.91, 0.92, 0.99, 1.14
Net book value ÷ cost (% remaining)
67.2, 66.1, 64.6, 62.9, 62.7, 61.9, 61.2, 61.0, 60.1, 59.4, 58.9, 59.8, 62.8, 63.1
Interest ÷ revenue (%)
0.95, 1.00, 0.95, 0.84, 0.73, 0.50, 0.74, 0.65, 1.16, 1.12, 1.01, 2.18, 3.84, 2.62
Government transfers ÷ revenue (%)
34.5, 32.6, 32.2, 30.2, 32.8, 32.3, 34.8, 29.2, 31.5, 29.6, 37.0, 32.2, 29.3, 29.0
Method & notes
- Net financial position is the city's money-like assets (cash, investments, money owed to it, plus deferred outflows) minus everything it owes (total liabilities plus deferred inflows). It equals the audited net position minus net capital assets.
- The two big step-downs follow accounting rules (GASB 68 in 2015 and GASB 75 in 2018) that first required cities to report their full pension and retiree-health promises. Years before 2015 exclude pensions and years before 2018 exclude retiree health, so the early years sit on a different basis.
- One estimate remains: water and sewer interest for 2011 (about $1.6M), because the city's 2011 audit was not among the source documents. The audited 2003-2012 bond-coverage schedule shows $1.92M of water-bond interest that year, confirming the range. It affects only the interest-to-revenue line, and only in 2011.
- 2023 revenue includes a one-time $99.8M donated asset (the Houbolt Road Bridge). The revenue-based ratios use 2023 revenue with that item removed, so the trends stay comparable.
- The repair-bill estimate restates the audit's accumulated depreciation ($711.6M in 2024) to today's construction prices (×1.75 to ×2.25), giving a deliberately rough $1.25B–$1.6B range.
- Per-household figures use about 51,055 Joliet households (U.S. Census, ACS 2024).
Headline figures (2024)
- Net financial position: −$1.24B (about −$24,300 per household)
- Estimated deferred repair bill: $1.25B–$1.6B (about $24,400–$31,400 per household)
- Combined, on- and off-the-books: roughly −$2.7B (about −$52,000 per household)
- What's behind the shortfall: retiree health care (~$500M), pensions (~$390M), and debt (~$447M, mostly water and sewer)