Special Briefing on Fiscal and Operational Priorities for Cities in the COVID Crisis Era

Navigating an unprecedented mix of challenges mayors across the US rely on innovative fiscal and managerial actions to navigate the lasting early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and new challenges on the horizon. In discussing these actions panelists touch on the research on city fiscal conditions by Professor Reschovsky as well as a new national survey of municipal leaders by Engaging Local Government Leaders, Route Fifty, and other partners. 

This special briefing features a panel of experts, including Linda J. Bilmes, Daniel Patrick Moynihan senior lecturer in public policy and public finance, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University; Andrew Reschovsky, professor emeritus of Public Affairs and Applied Economics, Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Bill Lucia, senior reporter, Route Fifty; Andrew Rein, president, Citizens Budget Commission of New York. 

Notable Quotes: 

“A rough scaling up of these estimates to all local governments in the entire United States suggests revenue shortfalls this fiscal year of $103-$165 billion.” - Andrew Reschovsky

 “Just over 60% of respondents said that capital projects would be the budget item most impacted by revenue shortfalls stemming from the Coronavirus. Among leadership positions the percentage of respondents who said so was even higher.” - Bill Lucia 

“The Mayor (of NYC) has actually talked about, if we don’t get this $1 billion saved, we need to lay off 22,000 workers, or we need to borrow money. We think that is a false choice.” - Andrew Rein 

“The best run cities that I’m working with are trying to quickly convert at least key portions of their budgets into activity-based budgets.” - Linda Bilmes 

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Special Briefing is published by the Volcker Alliance, as part of its Public Finance initiatives, and Penn IUR. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the panelists and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR.