News release: “Cities’ finances continue to weaken under the strain of the recession, resulting in cities being less able to meet their fiscal needs in 2011 and beyond. According to the National League of Cities’ annual report on cities’ fiscal conditions, financial officers report the largest spending cuts and loss of revenue in the 25-year history of the survey. In the research brief, City Fiscal Conditions in 2010, 87% of city finance officers report their cities are worse off financially than in 2009. City revenues – as generated in property, sales, and income taxes – will decline -3.2% in inflation-adjusted dollars according to finance officers. To compensate, city officials are cutting back spending, with expenditures declining by -2.3%. These are the largest cutbacks in spending in the history of the survey and the fourth year in a row that revenue declined. Financial pressures are forcing cities to layoff workers (79%), delay or cancel capital infrastructure projects (69%), and modify health benefits (34%). There were also significant increases in the number of officers reporting across-the-board services cuts (25%) and public safety cuts (25%). Public safety is usually reduced only as a last resort option…The ongoing weakness in the housing market, along with poor retail sales, has reduced the available revenue by significant margins. The responses from the finance officers clearly illustrate that the effects of the economic crash are intensifying in cities. Because most tax revenue is collected at specific points during the year, and since it takes time for housing assessments to catch up to current values, cities will still be feeling the full effect of the downturn in 2011. The national economy’s slow recovery to date also means the recession’s effects will potentially linger in cities for several more years…”