Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Barack Obama

Report: Obama’s 2011 Budget Leaves Cities in a Fiscal Hole of $16B-Plus

1:18 PM EST on February 25, 2010

nlc.png(Chart: National League of Cities)

The White House's proposed budget for 2011 would direct $2.8 billion to its biggest-ticket urban aid programs, even as American city governments face estimated budget shortfalls of at least $19 billion next year, according to a report released today by the nonpartisan Drum Major Institute (DMI).

The report compares urban budget shortfalls estimated by the National League of Cities -- which found that 62 percent of metropolitan areas delayed or canceled infrastructure projects during last year's economic downturn (see above chart) -- with the amount the Obama administration aims to spend on city transportation, housing, and community aid next year.

The DMI report praises the White House for its Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an ambitious plan to unify the disparate elements of federal land-use policy, and its continued attention to affordable housing grants. The budget "does demonstrate a concern for how federal policy impacts the health and vibrancy of neighborhoods and communities," DMI analyst Harry Moroz wrote.

But at a time when Washington can continue to deficit spend while city governments must achieve balanced budgets, often by having to cut essential services, Moroz questioned the Obama administration's ability to recognize the large-scale economic difficulties confronting U.S. metro areas:

Sucha shift [as the White House's 2011 budget makes] might have been sufficient in an era of robust job growth witha humming economy and expanding city revenues. In the current climate,though, it suggests an administration that is certainly aware of theimportance of cities, but is unwilling to commit the necessaryresources to meet the basic economic needs of cities and their localgovernments. ...

Only substantial direct assistance to citygovernments, coupled with an ambitious and targeted jobs program, canensure that cities, the economic engines of the country, do not soonrun out of fuel.

Just how big of a hole are cities in for 2011? The National League's study found that in the best-case scenario of a 3 percent budget shortfall, the nation's urban budget gap would reach $12 billion, with the worst-case outcome yielding $19 billion in urban deficits.

Once anticipated cuts to state governments' urban spending are factored in, however, the total shortfall could reach as high as $29 billion.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

The Price Is Right for Tuesday’s Headlines

If congestion pricing works in New York City, City Lab predicts that other U.S. cities will quickly follow suit.

November 28, 2023

Top NJ Lawmaker Proposes Major Reforms to Fight Temporary License Plate Fraud

The new legislation follows a seven-month Streetsblog investigation that found widespread fraud involving temp tags, with car dealers abusing weak state regulations and selling paper plates illegally to drivers using them to evade accountability on the road.

November 28, 2023

DOT’s New Emissions Rule is a Big Deal, Even if It Doesn’t Punish States for Polluting

No states will face penalties for building needless toxic road projects — but they also won't be able to hide those impacts from the public.

November 27, 2023

Monday’s Headlines Need Less Oil

E-bikes are a great alternative for short trips, and they're actually saving more fossil fuels that electric cars.

November 27, 2023

Highway Boondoggles 2023: This Bridge is a Bridge Too Far

Presented by local transportation authorities as a simple bridge replacement, an expensive, oversized highway expansion threatens to worsen congestion in Vancouver and Portland

November 27, 2023
See all posts