More city budget consequences

As a follow up to yesterdays post about how some states are so underfunded they are being forced to revert to dirt roads, there are more examples of what Americans can expect in coming years.

In Colorado, the local government is taking drastic steps to cut municipal services, testing the limit of what citizens will endure.

“More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled. The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter. Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that. Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero. City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won’t pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need. ”I guess we’re going to find out what the tolerance level is for people,” said businessman Chuck Fowler, who is helping lead a private task force brainstorming for city budget fixes. “It’s a new day.”

Does this sound like the America we are used to? According to Addy Hansen, a local resident: We’re in trouble. We’re in big trouble.”
New York City is implementing a similar retreat. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently proposed deep cuts for the city, including the closing of 20 fire companies and the elimination of more than 800 NYPD jobs. “Harry Nespoli, head of the Municipal Labor Committee, said the measures could put public safety in jeopardy by making emergency response less available. ”It only makes sense that if they close a [fire]house and it’s a longer run from another house, it’s going to take longer to get there,” he said.

The problem is accelerating in cities nationwide, as citizens are seeing disappearing services in this “worst of times.” “

“From Augusta, Maine, to Seattle, from Bossier City, La., to San Francisco, city leaders are scrambling to address unprecedented shortfalls, according to a new survey conducted by the National League of Cities. Furloughs, cuts in services and layoffs are the norm now from city to city, large, small and in between. Baltimore already has eliminated more than 500 positions and is facing another round of layoffs and furloughs. Bossier City has cut 117 of 897 positions, including 80 police and fire. Boston has laid off more than 500 employees. East Providence, R.I., has cut 55 positions, including 16 police and 28 fire. As cities continue reducing staff and delaying or canceling projects, the cumulative effect could end up being “devastating impacts on the employment level in local communities” and “a deep and lasting impact on the national economy.” The report suggests the worst is yet to come.

In the past, local governments have been able to tap state funds to keep operations going. State budgets are now in as bad, or worse shape than local municipalities, so this cash source is dried up. Towns across New Jersey are on the defensive in advance of the state budget rollout, which will leave largely them on their own. “Municipal officials throughout the region fear potential state aid cuts as they prepare budgets amid declining tax revenues. “We’re not expecting or planning for an increase in state aid,” Hamilton Township Business Administrator Ed Sasdelli said.”

To make up the difference, most local governments are looking to new taxes on citizens to cover the deficiency. In Rhode Island, The Times warns: The budge is due: Guard Your Wallet. Put one hand on your wallet, property tax payers, Gov. Donald Carcieri is going to unveil his 2011 budget on Tuesday and is likely do double down on the damage he proposes to do in the supplemental budget by eliminating half of the reimbursement to cities and towns for the

phase out of the automobile excise tax by eliminating the whole thing next year.

The deterioration of municipal budgets will get worse, since most local government revenue is ties to property tax assessments. As property values continue to decline, and more foreclosures are on the horizon, even this years severe cuts may seem tame in a few years. At the same time, local governments are often large employers in their areas, and their layoffs will add to the already severe unemployment, accelerating the spiral of decline.