https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com


Mayors concerned about Bush economic plan

Mayors concerned about Bush economic plan

By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's mayors, who are on the front lines of the U.S. war on terrorism, said on Thursday they were concerned
  • Written by American City & County Administrator
  • 25th October 2001

By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – America’s mayors, who are on the front lines of the U.S. war on terrorism, said on Thursday they were concerned that President Bush’s proposed economic recovery package would not really address their needs.

At the end of an Emergency, Safety and Security Summit of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, president Marc Morial expressed the group’s concerns about the multibillion-dollar stimulus package that is still being debated in Congress.

“While this nation’s mayors have great respect for the president’s leadership during this time of national crisis, after two days of deliberations with local public safety and health officials, we have concluded that we must … express our concerns with the proposed $60 billion economic recovery package,” Morial said.

“It is a package, we believe, which fails to address the kinds of security needs we have identified,” added Morial, the mayor of New Orleans.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a stimulus plan that would inject $100 billion into the economy over the next year — $25 billion more than Bush believed was needed to help the economy recover from the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Senate is still debating its version of the plan, which would likely be around $60 billion to $75 billion.

Local needs must be addressed in the plan, Morial said, outlining a national action plan for safety and security in America’s cities which was approved at the summit.

“Our plan recognizes that we are in a precarious situation,” Morial said. “We are facing the combination of an already weakened national economy, job layoffs and consumer anxieties created by the terrorist attacks and rapidly rising public safety and security costs.”

“This terrible combination threatens the ability of local governments to meet some of their most basic obligations.”

Morial said the mayors believe the United States needs a “balanced recovery plan” that addresses both tax relief and security investments.

“The front lines in our cities are defended by 650,000 police officers and thousands more firefighters, emergency responders and public health professionals,” Morial said. “To do the job, they need the kind of support that can come only from our federal government; they need the level of resources that is available only from our federal government.”

The economic package approved by the House aims to help the economy through business tax breaks and checks for workers who did not receive earlier tax rebates.

A draft summary of the mayors’ national action plan urged only short-term tax provisions — 12-18 months — that were directly targeted to stimulating the economy.

Among those they supported would be a lifting of the cap on state and local tax exempt bonds to spur stalled development and doubling the allocation of low income housing tax credits.

The mayors said they supported giving the newly created office of Homeland Security the authority needed to focus federal resources on the cities which they said have become the front lines in the domestic war on terrorism.

Asking for help to pay for heightened security in their cities, the mayors called for a new flexible local security block grant to be set up under the direction of the Office of Homeland Security. They said the funds could be used to train rescue workers, upgrade equipment and improve security measures for airports, waterways and other public infrastructure.

They also called for improved coordination and communication between federal, state and local law enforcement organizations.

Tags:

Most Recent


  • New York mayor announces city-wide curbside composting program, impacting 8.5 million residents by 2024
    On the heels of a successful 3-month-long pilot program in Queens, New York City has announced the largest curbside composting program in the United States. The initiative will begin following a winter-long hiatus of the Queens pilot, which is set to return permanently March 27. Curbside service to Brooklyn will begin Oct. 2, followed by the […]
  • Phoenix
    Federal funds help fast-growing Arizona city address several infrastructure challenges and needs
    Joe Giudice, public works director for the city of Phoenix, says the influx of new residents is driving a lot of construction in his community. “Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the United States. It is one of the fastest growing cities in a fast-growing region, which influences infrastructure product and service demand. This […]
  • How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient
    This article first appeared on Urgent Communication. It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced: an ambulance with a blaring siren racing against time to get a person in medical distress to a hospital through traffic. What we don’t see is 5G connectivity enabling paramedics to communicate with hospital staff via video conference and coordinate care in […]
  • Shifting city demographics present an opportunity to build coalitions, address inequality
    Minority-majority cities are driving American growth. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, for example, combined for an estimated 16% of the nation’s total gross domestic product in 2021—future projections anticipate a continuation of this trend, and an opportunity to create coalitions to address injustices. Between 2015 and 2020, 22% of U.S. cities were majority-minority, […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • NLC releases State of Cities 2021 report
  • How governments can keep employees safe as they return to work
  • Lessons from your friendly neighborhood public service employees
  • North Texas alliance partners with Marketplace.city on smart government solutions

White papers


Modernizing government services for today’s resident expectations

24th January 2023

Preparing Your Community Now for the Next Generation of Older Adults

18th October 2022

Helping Government Fleets Achieve Their Goals

30th September 2022
view all

Webinars


How To: Evaluate Digital Government Service Delivery Technologies

23rd January 2023

Using Technology to Enhance Communications

29th November 2022

Learn the benefits of transforming and automating your Contract Management process

4th November 2022
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Report: While remote work is causing offices to empty out, walkable cities are still in high demand

26th January 2023

10 American cities with a great downtown

24th January 2023

Miami leads the way in FT-Nikkei ranking of best U.S. cities for foreign companies

20th January 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

New York mayor announces city-wide curbside composting program, impacting 8.5 million residents by 2024 dlvr.it/ShhRk1

30th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Federal funds help fast-growing Arizona city address several infrastructure challenges and needs dlvr.it/ShhBtf

30th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient dlvr.it/ShYNcx

27th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Shifting city demographics present an opportunity to build coalitions, address inequality dlvr.it/ShYMMm

27th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Spending American Rescue Plan Act funds: A primer for municipalities dlvr.it/ShXzvl

27th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: While remote work is causing offices to empty out, walkable cities are still in high demand dlvr.it/ShVhBW

26th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Managing landslides along road corridors using remote sensing dlvr.it/ShTpL6

26th January 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Prioritizing neighborhood infill, expanding transit options increases neighborhood resilience dlvr.it/ShRrFM

25th January 2023

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.