Local government & municipal finance
City Mayors describes and explains financial issues affecting local government

Municipal bonds have been issued
by US local government since 1812
14 May 2008: Infrastructure in the US is generally financed through subnational capital financing vehicles, termed municipal bonds, which encompass the issuance of bonds by state and local governments, their agencies and quasi-public bodies generically termed special districts. While the term comprises issuers other than municipalities, the first bond of this trail-blazing genre was issued in 1812 by New York City. This pioneering debt instrument was a general obligation bond, which meant that it was backed by the taxing power and tax revenues of the issuer. More

Flexibility and transparency make
London world’s best financial city
14 June 2007: London has been named as the world’s top financial centre in a survey by Mastercard. The authors praise the British capital’s stable legal and economic framework and transparent business regulations. New York City was placed second ahead of Tokyo and Chicago. More

US subprime mortgage crisis hurts
individuals and whole communities
14 April 2007: Homeownership has long been the basis of community revitalization efforts in American cities. Homeowners bring well-documented stability and investment to neighborhoods. The recent rise in mortgage foreclosures, fueled by subprime lending, seriously threatens neighborhood stability and revitalization. More

Budget cuts compel Kawaguchi City to
set up new public management model
28 January 2007: With a population of some 500,000 people, Kawaguchi is a bustling city and one of the major economic and cultural centers of Saitama Prefecture. Although the population is increasing, the budget restrictions have been harsher in recent years due to the decline of the regional economy. As a result, Kawaguchi city has to streamline the administrative process in order to reduce the size of its budget. As a means of achieving public administration reforms, the New Public Management (NPM) model has been introduced since 2002. More

Brazilian cities pioneer
democratic budgeting
To be known as a poor country with problems in areas such as politics and education has been no stumbling-block to Brazil’s pioneering a practice that, little by little, is spreading throughout the world. This is the Participatory Budget (PB). It  is, in general terms, the shared administration between government and citizens where collective decisions are made on how the budget is to be formulated.The first city to employ this practice was Porto Alegre, south Brazil, in 1988, and was initiated by mayor Olívio Dutra, of the Worker’s Party (PT). More

Additional revenue sources are hard to find
as US cities face increased responsibilities
In the United States most local government revenue derives from three areas - local sources, state and federal aid. A breakdown of the components provides a clearer picture of local government revenue sources. It should be kept in mind, however, that revenue sources that have been tapped, and their adequacy in meeting local needs, are two different things. More

San Diego's new Mayor aims to steady
the city’s finances with his first budget
Releasing a budget that he says will begin to stabilize San Diego's financial doldrums but not solve them, San Diego’s new Mayor Jerry Sanders capped off a week of budget announcements that sketch the route the mayor will follow the next three years as he attempts to be the sentinel of the city's financial recovery. The new mayor also used his announcement to combat specific criticisms and concerns surrounding the US$674 million borrowing proposal announced in early April as the mayor's pension fix. More

US cities under increasing
financial strain, says study
A study by the US Brookings institution found that increased the costs of providing homeland security, education as well as health care and pension provisions for employees are putting US cities under an increasing financial strain. The study also reveals that in order to make up for lost federal aid, cities are relying more on state aid. They also enhance revenues by dipping into reserves as well as increasing user charges and fees. More

Cities are targeting cell phones and
the internet as new revenue sources
Cell phone and Internet sales taxes are becoming new technology income sources for governments looking to shore up their fiscal positions. Newspaper articles across the United States are reporting how state and local governments are seeking new technology-based revenue streams. As this is an era of rising costs, governments are looking to add income from sources previously left untapped - even non-governmental organizations (NGOs). More

North Carolina still influences
US local government finance
North Carolina’s local government finance and oversight system demonstrates how to limit the number of fiscal crises, while delivering municipal bond issuers respected by credit rating agencies, investors and constituents. As a result of its local government default history in the issuance of municipal bonds during the Great Depression, the state of North Carolina developed a system that continues to influence others in following the path it took in the early 20th Century. North Carolina now provides a leading example of state supervision of local government finances. More

London is the most expensive city in the world
while Swiss cities are home to highest earners
London is the most expensive city in the world due to the UK capital’s high cost of renting accommodation. If rents are excluded, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tokyo and Zurich are among the most costly cities in the world. Meanwhile, as the US dollar has lost value, US cities have become cheaper since 2003. The highest gross wages are paid in Scandinavia and Switzerland. The city with the highest gross wage level is now Copenhagen, ahead of Zurich, Basel and Oslo. But owing to higher taxes and social security contributions, the Scandinavian cities have all moved down the rankings on net wages. More

Canadian government offers cities
long-term partnership and funding
City mayors from all parts of Canada congratulated the federal finance minister, Ralph Goodale, on producing an excellent budget for cities. Bob Chiarelli, Mayor of Ottawa, said that the Minister’s second federal budget contained some very good news for Canada’s cities. “I think, all in all, it’s a good budget for cities”, he said. Regina Mayor, Pat Fiacco, echoed his comments by saying that communities now had the money to build bridges, fixing roads and upgrading transit systems. Toronto Mayor, David Miller, called the budget very good news. More

US cities say elimination of block grant will
threaten economies in many communities
America’s leading municipal organizations condemned the decision the US government to eliminate the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). This grant is used by cities across the US to create jobs, increase economic development opportunities and expand home ownership. The elimination of the CDBG will have a devastating economic impact on cities, counties, and local communities of all sizes. More

Canadian government announces
more details of new deal for cities
Official bodies at all levels of government throughout Canada have welcomed the explanation in February 2005 by John Godfrey, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, of many of the details of Prime Minister Paul Martin’s government’s ‘New Deal for Cities and Communities’. In particular he revealed the formula by which the federal government will allocate federal gas (petrol) tax revenues toward maintenance and development of municipal infrastructures. More

Despite economic growth New York’s
spending is still outpacing tax income
When in April 2004 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented his US$46.9 billion budget for the financial year (FY) 2005, he told his audience that the City's economy continued to strengthen, revenues from economically sensitive taxes, such as personal income and property taxes, were rising and the City's fiscal prudence was paying dividends.  “But unfortunately, spiralling non-discretionary spending is dampening the City's recovery and creating significant problems for the financial year 2006," he also warned. More

US cities cut civic services and
staff to confront financial crisis
As a result of an increasing squeeze on municipal budgets, many US cities and towns are cutting staff and services and increasing fees, according to survey of 328 cities by the National League of Cities (NLC), the oldest and largest organization representing US cities. More