NLC survey shows continued optimism among city leaders

Washington, D.C. — The latest National League of Cities survey of local government officials shows the continuation of a five-year trend indicating optimism about the ability of local governments to solve their problems.

Despite the fact that three of 10 local officials said more local indicators had worsened than improved during the past year, 90 percent said they were optimistic about the direction in which their cities were moving. And, for the first time since 1990, respondents rated a majority (60 percent) of 30 specific conditions improved rather than worsened.

Ninety-six percent said local service levels were maintained or increased during the past year, and 89 percent said the service levels provided in their communities were meeting local needs.

Local conditions drawing most of the “improved” responses were police-community relations (61 percent), recreation (58 percent), economic conditions (55 percent), infrastructure (51 percent) and unemployment (49 percent). Areas in which officials reported worsening conditions included cable TV rates and service (62 percent), impacts of unfunded mandates (46 percent), drugs and alcohol abuse (38 percent), youth crime (37 percent) and gangs (33 percent). When asked to identify three local conditions “most important to address in the next two years,” respondents most often cited infrastructure (30 percent), city fiscal conditions (28 percent), quality of education (23 percent), overall economic conditions (19 percent) and effects of unfunded mandates (19 percent).

“Now is not the time to turn away or turn back from issues, problems and decisions that still need attention,” noted NLC President and Oklahoma City councilmember Mark Schwartz. “There is momentum to carry us forward. There is important work yet to be done.”

Still, Schwartz was encouraged by the survey results. “It projects a widespread ‘can-do’ outlook that is ready to take on the tasks at hand and those that lie ahead,” he said. “It is time to pursue that work in areas where our cities and our nation face a set of common concerns. It is time to pursue that work in earnest, in concert and with a sincere determination to find solutions, not simply escape from responsibilities.”

Schwartz also called for cooperation between the cities and the federal government in areas that affect local governments, as well as those that are national in scope.

“Cities [must have] a place at the table and a voice in the national policy discussions that address those issues,” he said. “It is everybody’s business.”

The survey of 469 local government officials was conducted by NLC’s Center for Research and Program Development, with assistance from the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. For information, or to receive a copy of the survey results, contact NLC at (202) 626-3000.