Article Tools

• Bookmark

Advertisement

Most Popular News

• Where teleworking is headed in 2012
• Increased use of purchasing cards in government likely in 2012
• Affordable kiosks ensure ADA compliance in government facilities

Know before you buy or sell. Get your truck's value instantly online.

Find Your Truck Now

*To see the actual values, you must purchase a subscription or a single-vehicle lookup.

Local government spending

Yes, city and county budgets are stressed out. The municipal sector likely will face a fiscal shortfall of between $56 billion and $83 billion from 2010-2012, driven by declining tax revenues, ongoing service demands and cuts in state revenues, according to the National League of Cities' recent "City Budget Shortfalls and Responses: Projections for 2010-2012" report.

Tad DeHaven

Although the $75 billion Local Jobs for America Act (LJAA) could bring some fiscal relief to cities and enable local governments to hold off planned job cuts, governments may need to look beyond federal aid to help them balance their budgets, says Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based libertarian think tank.

"Thanks to federal bailouts, state and local governments have not instituted the reforms necessary to keep themselves from overspending when times are good and then running crying to Washington when the economy inevitably heads south," DeHaven tells Govpro.com. "Although, with Washington arguably already in fiscal crisis, state and local governments probably shouldn't bank on Washington bailing them out to the degree it has in the past."

Next: Public works and government construction spending >