Infrastructure is the top mayoral priority according to NLC’s ‘State of the Cities 2023’ report

As local governments continue to invest their allotments of pandemic-era federal funding, building and repairing infrastructure is at the top of the priority list for mayors, according to the National League of Cities’ annual “State of the Cities 2023.”

“This year, mayors have once again made it clear that infrastructure is a top priority, as they see a pressing need to upgrade roads and bridges, water systems and broadband access,” wrote Clarence Anthony, the city league’s CEO and executive director in an introduction to the report, which explores American cities most pressing needs by analyzing annual ‘state of the city’ speeches delivered by mayors around the country. “With federal and state grant programs available in the BIL (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) to fund these demands, municipal governments across the country have been applying for, receiving, and investing in these resources to fully bring their communities into the 21st century.”

Infrastructure dominated the mayoral speeches analyzed by researchers, taking up an average of 32% of total time. Budget and management topics were next, comprising 17% of the time, followed by public safety issues at 12%, economic development with 11% and housing issues at 8%. Other themes included education, health and human services, energy and environmental concerns. Overall, mayors expressed a positive outlook on the near-term future of their communities, a statement about the report notes. With historic federal funding coming to municipalities, mayors are focused on repairing and building critical infrastructure, and making it climate resilient.

The focus on infrastructure represents a change in mayoral priorities, according to Farhad Omeyr, Ph.D., program director for National League of Cities’ (NLC) Center for Research and Data. He aligned the shift with federal investments in a panel discussion Friday held in Tacoma, Wash. about the findings. Victoria Woodards, mayor of Tacoma, Wash. and Eddie Sundquist, mayor of Jamestown, N.Y. joined Omeyr on the panel, which was hosted by Anthony.

“Economic development used to be at the top of the list,” Omeyr said, noting infrastructure has been at the top for the past three years, coinciding with the pandemic. “Infrastructure is the capstone of economic development. This is good news to see our city leaders care more and more about infrastructure.”

Citing the research, he said mayors most often highlighted a need to invest in streets, bridges and roads in their annual speeches, followed by water and sewer, along with railway and other transportation systems. Streets and roads were highlighted as a high priority 88% of the time, followed by water systems (85%), sewer and stormwater drainage (74%), public power (63%), water treatment (59%), parks and recreation areas (28%), and bridges (28%), among other things. The report notes that transportation directly impacts economic development, social mobility, environmental sustainability and public safety.

“We’re a city with bridges,” Woodards said. “And we’ve got—not failing infrastructure—but we have infrastructure that’s been around for a really long time. We also have a facilities issue, and not just in the buildings where we service folks like the libraries and public spaces. We have failing infrastructure in some of our fire houses, and in some of the buildings where streets and grounds folks work.”

Many of the nation’s current infrastructure is many years old. The “State of the Cities” report cites the American Society of Civil Engineers’ annual infrastructure report card, which gave U.S. infrastructure a grade of C-minus in 2020, with bridges and transit scoring even lower at D and D-minus, respectively.

Sundquist stressed just how important the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been to Jamestown, allowing administrators to tackle whole projects from start to finish instead of the “piecemeal” approach they had to take before.

“Infrastrucure has always been the sacrificial lamb in our cities because there was not enough money,” Omeyr said. “Cities are constrained with their budgets. I believe things like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law should be a continuous thing, not a one-time thing.”

A need for resilient infrastructure was also stressed in mayoral speeches.. Along with infrastructure needs, the panelists Friday spent a good amount of time discussing the public safety- and housing-related challenges they’re facing.

“We’re closing the gap. Last year was the first time we hired more than we lost,” Woodwards said about the Tacoma police force’s hiring and retention difficulties. She noted the city is creating a behavioral health unit to respond to mental health calls to alleviate pressure. It takes between 12 and 18 months from the time someone fills out an application to when their first patrol, which makes it difficult for administrators to keep up with the number of officers retiring. “We implemented a $25,000 incentive to recruit officers who were interested in coming to Tacoma, then added a $10,000 retention service to slow down those retiring.”

About housing, Sundquist said Jamestown created a program using federal American Rescue Plan dollars to help aging residents repair or modify their homes (by, for example, building a bathroom on the first floor) so they don’t have to move. 

And in Tacoma, Woodards said administrators have recently seen zoning changes gain traction. They’ve created a safe parking lot for those living in cars, and a low-barrier shelter “where people can just come as they are. … It’s kind of like a managed tent city, and that’s helped,” she said. That being said, because the federal investment was a one-time initiative, cities must figure out a long-term solution when the funding dries up. “As we get closer to that ARPA cliff, all of these investments we’ve made, we need to find a way that we can continue.”

For more information and to view the full report, visit the National League of Cities’ website.