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

Administration


Government budgets on the mend in 2nd half 2011

Government budgets on the mend in 2nd half 2011

A slightly more robust economy and rising government revenues signal some improvement in government budgets for the remainder of 2011. Signs that the economy may be coming out of its deep freeze include
  • Written by Michael Keating ([email protected])
  • 23rd June 2011

Editor’s note: The following is the first of a six-part series on government budgets and government spending that comprise the Keating Report mid-year 2011 forecast. The topics we are covering include: federal budgets, transportation projects, state tax revenue, local government budget trends, ARRA-funded construction and government spending.

A slightly more robust economy and rising government revenues signal some improvement in government budgets for the remainder of 2011. Higher consumer spending and gross domestic product growth (albeit at a slow 1.8 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter), low inflation, higher consumer savings rates and slow but steady hiring in the U.S. work force are all signs that the economy may be coming out of its deep freeze.

However, the continuing budget battle in Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling and curb government spending is a wild card that everyone will be monitoring closely. As part of the debt ceiling discussions, both Democrat and Republican lawmakers are considering plans that could trim $4 trillion to $6 trillion off the federal budget over the next 10 years.

Even as lawmakers debate government spending cuts, government purchases of goods and services will grow a little in the remaining quarters of 2011, and expand by about 1.4 percent in 2012, according to the latest analysis from St. Louis, Mo.-based consultants Macroeconomic Advisers (MA). Total government purchases of goods and services in the U.S. (also called government consumption and gross investment) will reach $3.06 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2011 versus $3.03 trillion in 2010, according to MA. State and local governments will account for $1.8 trillion, while federal purchases will exceed $1.2 trillion.

Federal agencies will face tighter budgets, confirms Brian Riedl, the Heritage Foundation’s lead budget analyst. “The GOP House has essentially frozen non-defense discretionary spending, which will partially counteract the natural rise in entitlement costs,” Riedl says. The Washington-based Heritage Foundation is a research institute that formulates and promotes conservative public policies.

More budget uncertainty may result with the end of the stimulus funding program on June 30. The stimulus program, which was spawned by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), showered billions on governments throughout the U.S.

Government contractors should continue to scope out stimulus dollars still available, urges Henry Chou, associate vice president at Seattle-based Onvia, which tracks government-contracting opportunities for U.S. companies. “Tens of billions in stimulus dollars are still out there to be won. In fact, of the $275 billion in ARRA spending that was designated for projects, only about $80 billion had actually been awarded to contractors as of May 2011. In the construction and building supplies sector in particular, Onvia is tracking about $81 billion in ARRA-related contracts at the state and local level, of which only about $28 billion has been awarded,” Chou says.

He offers this advice: “With the housing market’s recovery continuing to lag, construction contractors should keep looking to government agencies for ARRA work, not only to tide them over but to help them grow their businesses.”

View additional installments of our second-half 2011 forecast as well as the January 2011 forecast.

Related Stories

  • Legislation introduced to repeal 3 percent withholding provision
  • 2011 Keating Report on government budgets and spending
  • 2nd half 2010 Keating Report on government budgets and spending
  • 2010 Keating Report on government budgets and spending

Tags: Administration News

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

  • Lessons from your friendly neighborhood public service employees
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery

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.