The Fiscal Firebomb Looming for Small Cities in Illinois
A state law meant to hold municipalities accountable for pension payments may actually worsen a coming fiscal crisis.
Frank Shafroth is the director of the Center for State and Local Leadership at George Mason University, where he is also an assistant professor, and is an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at George Washington University. He has served as the director of federal policy and intergovernmental relations for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, was chief of staff for U.S. Rep. James Moran, was director of policy and federal relations for both the National Governors Association and the National League of Cities, and was assistant counsel for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. He is a regular columnist for State Tax Notes and an attorney. He is currently heading a project for the MacArthur Foundation on the topic of severe municipal fiscal stress.
A state law meant to hold municipalities accountable for pension payments may actually worsen a coming fiscal crisis.
Demographic trends suggest trouble ahead for government revenues.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
We're in a new era of digital extortion. We need to do a lot more to block and mitigate attacks like the one that crippled Atlanta.
The cost of post-retirement benefits is threatening governments’ ability to provide vital services.
Local governments. But they’re not just doing it for the money.
Hurricanes can hurt property taxes long before any water damage is done.
Local governments are no longer as willing to take on the risky business of building a ballpark.
Cities that faced bankruptcy not long ago have made remarkable recoveries -- all on their own.
The decline of malls in America can mean lost jobs and lower tax revenues for states and municipalities -- but not always.
Changes are likely on the way, and they could damage budgets.
They would be mostly -- but not all -- good for state and local revenues.
Both candidates have vowed to reform the tax code. But neither has said how their plans would impact states and localities.
Cities are experimenting with ways to meet the goals of affordable housing while still reaping the benefits of the sharing economy.
Not that sharing economy though -- the other one.
If the IRS gets its way, it may be harder for special districts to issue tax-exempt municipal bonds.
Is anyone trying to balance the fiscal inequities states impose on their localities?
The growing intensity of natural disasters is a threat to state and local governments’ fiscal stability. How can they protect their finances and the environment?
When cities try to tax people who work in one place and live in another, things get really complicated really fast.
The recent bankruptcy rulings in California and Michigan protected retirees’ pensions. But at what expense?
The rules for a city’s return to solvency are no longer being crafted by lawmakers.
There are two primary ways retiring baby boomers will impact revenues.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
No one really knows what might happen to San Bernardino if the California city fails to meet a May 30 deadline in its bankruptcy case.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
In many ways, its challenges are more serious than Detroit's, threatening its aspirations to be a global city.
On-demand services like Uber and Airbnb will force state and local governments to rethink taxes, zoning and retirement.
Questions loom about who will pay for the fallout of a national health crisis and what kind of impact it could have on credit ratings.
As fire departments’ costs have increased in recent years, their volunteers have drastically dropped.
Localities are forced to deal with much of the problems associated with fracking, while states and the federal government rake in all the revenue.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
Wall Street can be hard on a state that moves to keep its local governments solvent or help them through bankruptcy. But it's a chance that some states have decided is worth taking.
It’s not that governments don’t want to give the public the services they demand, it’s that they increasingly can’t afford to -- even by raising taxes.
There’s a lot America can learn from these two countries about how to avert municipal bankruptcies.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
Smart state leaders are recognizing that it costs a lot less to keep a struggling city, county or school district out of trouble in the first place.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
It's always going to be expensive, but getting it right is critical.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
The diverse group of people dealing with the city's bankruptcy could teach Washington a lot about collaboration and creativity.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
Demographic change and tax policies that favor the elderly mean an ever-widening fiscal gap for state and local governments.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
Colorado's county secession movement was sparked by a growing disconnect between rural and urban areas. Rather than forming a new state, it might make more sense to try to deal with that disconnect.
The disinvestment and reliance on higher student fees and tuition creates significant risks not only for students—but for states, too.
Voices of the GOVERNING Institute
There are positive signs, but there also is a lot of variation in how they fared through the downturn and beyond.
When a city is bankrupt, judges have a big say in whose bills will be paid. For now, all eyes are on Detroit and San Bernardino, Calif.
Special districts are growing like weeds—and raising tax burdens as they proliferate.