Majority of cities cannot meet financial obligations
Majority of cities cannot meet financial obligations City revenues are not keeping up with city spending, according to a new report released by the Washington, D.C-based National League of Cities (NLC). In fact, only two out of five were able to meet their fiscal needs in 2004, and the balance sheets for 2005 do not appear to be any rosier. The survey figures were taken from city finance directors. The weak numbers were not impacted by population size, region or taxing authority. Rather than raise property taxes, many cities are tightening their belts by reducing the workforce, working smarter and subcontracting jobs. Cities are legally required to balance their budgets — a problem considering that in 2004, overall city revenues were projected to grow 2.6 percent while expenditures were expected to grow by 3.6 percent. http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/newsroom/nations_cities_weekly/display.cfm?id=0F946611-A116-4060-BF51967F4D5679EF