July 2011 Municipal Cost Index inches upward

The costs of goods and services purchased by local governments increased 0.5 percent over last month, according to American City & County’s Municipal Cost Index. The July 2011 Municipal Cost Index value of 223.0 is 5.1 percent higher than last year.

After several months of steady increases, prices for crude petroleum, diesel fuel and home heating oil decreased in the last month. Crude petroleum decreased 10.9 percent, diesel fuel (No.2) decreased 3.8 percent, and home heating oil decreased 3.5 percent.

Still, fuels have shown the greatest year-over-year increases among items tracked by American City & County. Crude petroleum is up 41.8 percent, home heating oil is up 39.7 percent, and diesel fuel is up 39.5 percent since last year. Gasoline prices have increased even more, at 49.7 percent in the last year, which is the highest percentage increase among items tracked by American City & County.

The Municipal Cost Index, developed exclusively by American City & County, is designed to show the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services. State and local government officials rely on American City & County’s Municipal Cost Index to stay on top of price trends, help control price increases for commodities, make informed government contract decisions and intelligent budget planning. Since 1978, readers have loyally referred to the Municipal Cost Index to determine the cost of inflation and, hence, the rising cost of doing business as a local government.

American City & County’s Municipal Cost Index for July 2011 is available now at www.americancityandcounty.com/mciarchive. For a complete archive of the index since 1978, visit www.americancityandcounty.com/mciarchive.