By Parker Leavitt | The Republic | azcentral.com
Valley cities are emerging from the Great Recession in generally stable financial health, but they still face significant challenges as they trudge through a long and slow recovery.
Municipal operations are leaner, cash reserves are smaller and debt payments are higher as many Valley cities work to keep up with demands for service.
But an analysis of five years of city financial data by The Arizona Republic shows that many of the underlying issues that led Valley cities to the brink of economic crisis during the recession remain, including sensitive revenue streams, legislative mandates and rising benefit costs.
For now, cities are starting to increase spending by boosting programs and employee salaries that largely remained stagnant through troubled times.
Related: Phoenix takes modest steps to fix pension ‘spiking’ rules
