Things aren't all bad for Ohio's counties and cities, but some are in danger of falling off a financial cliff, according to a new analysis by state Auditor Dave Yost designed to predict future budget troubles.

Yost unveiled new searchable online reports Wednesday that scores Ohio’s 247 cities and 88 counties on 17 financial indicators, painting a broad picture of financial health by highlighting specific areas of concern that could spell future financial headaches.

Yost said he challenged his staff years ago to "figure out when a community is heading for trouble before they actually get there.”

“This was an outgrowth of one of the more frustrating elements of my job,” Yost said. “I hate putting communities in fiscal emergency.”

The new report was unveiled just days before Gov. John Kasich is set to releasel his new two-year state budget, in which local funding levels will once again be a major debate topic. State local government and library funding is down 32 percent since 2008 and local governments also no longer collect roughly $200 million per year from the estate tax.

Each of the report's financial indicators, including such factors as the year-end fund balance, general revenue balance, changes in tax revenues and debt, is given either a green, yellow or red score, depending on the level of concern. A city or county with six red indicators, or eight total red and yellow indicators, are considered to be under high fiscal stress.

Based on 2015 data, 15 cities and one county, Fayette, meet the threshold for high-stress. They include Canton, Akron, and Springfield. None is in central Ohio.

“Local governments have, by and large, done a pretty good job on some choppy water,” Yost said.

Another 13 cities and two counties are within one indicator of high stress, including Newark, Powell, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Powell, a wealthy, growing city, got five red “critical” indicators, including liabilities that exceed assets, the ratio of debt to revenues, and the number of days its fund balance would sustain city services.

City spokeswoman Megan Canavan said that all five critical indicators were affected by the city loaning more than $10 million in 2012 to two new community authorities" to help the Delaware County community build sewer systems and other infrastructure for new neighborhoods.

The assets, she said, belong to the county, however, and do not offset the debt on their balance sheets.

"There was basically one number that set off all of the other critical factors," Canavan said.

"It's a great tool," she said of the comparison data, but added. "The numbers don't always depict the full story."

Three years ago, the city was given a Aaa bond rating with a stable outlook, and a "Make your Tax Dollars Work" award from the state, she said.

Newark has two red indicators for liabilities that exceed assets and declining ratio of revenue to cover net expenses. Five other indicators get yellow “cautionary” scores, including for condition of capital assets — by far the biggest problem indicator among all Ohio cities and counties.

"Newark is an old city with old infrastructure with an old manufacturing tax base that we no longer have. And yet we still try to provide the same basic services that we always have," said Steve Johnson, Newark's auditor. "We're stressed."

The tool will help Johnson justify his conservative approach to Newark's mayor and council. "I'm always cautioning people and I often feel like I'm raining on their parade," he said.

In all, 92 percent of cities and 82 percent of counties had at least one yellow or red indicator.

While most Columbus suburbs had no more than two or three indicators showing distress, Pickerington was among the few with none.

“This report suggests to me that the financial condition of our cities and counties isn’t as great as some believe, nor is it as bad as some others believe,” Yost said.

Reports are available at ohioauditor.gov/FHI.

The auditor’s analysis does not include villages with a population under 5,000.

Yost said he has received some pushback from local officials, including from his home county of Delaware, who apparently were offended because it had one yellow indicator.

jsiegel@dispatch.com

@phrontpage

dnarciso@dispatch.com

@DeanNarciso