Which Cities Are Building Wealth?
Vol. III, No. 297 - A final look at financial health for some local communities
Earlier this week, this publication took a look at five local communities (Piqua, Troy, Sidney, Tipp City and Huber Heights) and gave some financial details about these commuities that go deeper than just an annual budget. Our story this week took a look at the debt these five cities carry and how that debt isn’t necessarily created or paid off equally.
And while debt tells you what a city owes, it just one part of the bigger complex picture of municipal finances. To get a more complete picture of financial health, it also helps to understand what a city owns — and whether it’s building wealth over time or quietly drawing it down. That’s what net position and investment portfolios reveal.
What Is Net Position?
Net position is the municipal equivalent of net worth. Take everything a city owns — roads, buildings, equipment, cash, utility infrastructure, receivables — and subtract everything it owes — debt, pension obligations, post-employment benefits. What remains is net position.
Government accountants divide it into two buckets:
Governmental activities — general government functions like public safety, roads, and parks
Business-type activities — enterprise operations like water, sewer, and electric utilities
A healthy city shows a positive and growing net position in both categories. A declining governmental net position is a warning sign: the city is consuming assets faster than it’s building them. It’s the financial equivalent of drawing down a savings account to pay everyday bills.
Where the Five Cities Stand
Troy leads the cohort on governmental net position at $6,776 per capita — nearly $800 more per resident than second-place Tipp City. That gap reflects years of conservative borrowing, strong income tax collections, and consistent capital investment. Troy’s governmental net position isn’t just a snapshot — it’s the accumulated result of disciplined financial management over a long period.
Tipp City’s numbers are exceptional for a city its size. With a combined governmental and business-type net position of $11,363 per capita, Tipp City outperforms every other city in the cohort on a per-resident basis. For a community of just over 10,000 people operating its own electric, water, and sewer systems, that’s a remarkable achievement. A Moody’s A1 reaffirmation in 2025 confirms what the numbers show.
Not all municipal infrastructure works the same way — and that matters when you’re the one paying the bill.
Tipp City and Huber Heights both share a regional wastewater treatment system with Vandalia, rather than operating their own. Piqua and Tipp City each run municipal electric utilities, while the remaining communities rely on AES Ohio for power. And while Huber Heights owns its water system outright, the city contracts with an outside firm — Veolia — to manage and operate it day to day.
Each of these arrangements carries its own cost structure, governance model, and rate-setting process. That makes apples-to-apples comparisons across communities far more complicated than they might first appear.
Huber Heights is the city that warrants the closest watch. Despite having the largest raw governmental net position in dollar terms outside of Troy, its per-capita governmental net position of $2,694 is the weakest in the cohort — and its business-type net position per capita of $2,009 is also last. As the largest city in the group, Huber Heights carries proportionally more infrastructure obligation, and its recent annexation activity and debt issuance will continue to test those figures in coming years.
The Investment Cushion
Beyond net position, the size of a city’s investment portfolio relative to its debt tells you how much financial flexibility it actually has. A large investment cushion means a city can absorb revenue disruptions without emergency cuts or borrowing.
Troy’s 6.5-to-1 investment-to-debt ratio is in a class of its own. For every dollar of debt the city carries, it holds six and a half dollars in investments. That is an extraordinary financial cushion. Tipp City’s nearly 3-to-1 ratio is equally impressive given its size.
Piqua, Huber Heights, and Sidney all carry more debt than investments — or close to it. That’s not a red flag on its own, but it does mean those cities have less room to maneuver if revenues decline or an unexpected capital need emerges. For Piqua, the utility debt driving that ratio is enterprise-backed and will decline as the water and sewer bonds are retired. For Huber Heights, the GO-heavy debt load makes that ratio more consequential.
The Bottom Line
All five cities are solvent, positively positioned, and investment-grade rated. But “healthy” covers a wide range. Troy and Tipp City have built genuine financial strength — deep investment cushions, strong net positions, and low taxpayer-backed debt. Piqua and Sidney are solid, with specific areas worth monitoring. Huber Heights has the resources of a larger city but is carrying more financial weight per resident than any of its peers. The financial reports don’t lie — and they reward the residents who take the time to read them.
Announcing our March Community Survey!
Every other month, this publication takes time to ask our readers how they feel about the happenings in their hometown! What are the challenges? What are the opportunities? Is your hometown headed in the right direction? Our survey is the easiest way for you to express your thoughts. Next month, this publication will report out on the results.
Thanks for your time and your participation! It is greatly appreciated!
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