NCL city fiscal conditions survey reflects economic woes.(News & Numbers)

A recent survey by the National League of Cities (NCL) shows how cities are faring under current economic conditions. According to the survey, conducted in December 2008 and January 2009, 83 percent of cities are making spending cuts for the current fiscal year, and 80 percent predict cuts for the next fiscal year. Eighty-four percent of finance officers surveyed said they are facing fiscal difficulties, compared with 64 percent in the previous survey, conducted six months before.

Nearly all the cities surveyed expect the economic hardship to continue well into 2009, and 92 percent expect to have trouble meeting their city needs this year.

The main means cities are using to deal with the situation is service cuts; 83 percent of respondents have cut expenditures and services, and 80 percent plan to make more cuts in the next fiscal year. Sixty-nine percent of cities reported instituting hiring freezes and/or staff layoffs. Other measures include delaying or canceling outlays for capital infrastructure projects (42 percent); across the board service cuts (22 percent); and cuts in other services, including libraries and special events (20 percent).

Financing also remains a challenge, with 46 percent of city finance officers reporting difficulties in accessing credit and obtaining bond financing, and 28 percent reporting delayed or canceled municipal bond financing.

The full report is available at www.nlc.org.

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