[Archived] Mayor Euille Speaks about Fiscal Challenges Facing Cities

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2004
PIO 182-04/mr

Mayor Euille Speaks about Fiscal Challenges Facing Cities

At a recent meeting of the annual National Professional Development Conference of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille addressed the 1,700 attendees about the fiscal challenges facing cities accross the United States. AGA, which is an Alexandria-based association, is the leading professional organization in regard to federal government financial management.

Mayor Euille identified challenges facing cities nationwide:

• An unraveling of intergovernmental partnerships - the federal government and state governments, because of their own fiscal problems, have been slowly but consistently devolving funding responsibility for services to local governments.

• A growing disconnect between economic growth and revenue systems - most cities have a 19th century, industrial bricks-and-mortar based tax system that focuses on property taxes to finance governmental expenditures.

• Changing and increasing service needs in response to demographic shifts - cities have many people living in poverty and many residents whose native language is not English, which means added service responsibility.

• The diminished trust between all levels of government and the public.

• Affordable housing - renting a decent apartment or buying a small house is out of reach for many.

• Transportation and traffic - the federal and state governments have failed in providing sufficient funding.

Solutions to these challenges were outlined by Mayor Euille:

• States should craft a package of tax reforms and tax increases to be able to stave off major
service reductions, as well as to provide increased aid for public schools.

• A broader sales tax and the ability to tax Internet retail purchases are needed.

• Governments need to improve their communication with citizens and businesses and reform government business practices for the 21st century.

• Government web sites need to have high energy and be easy to use instead of dull, static information.

• Local governments need to expand affordable housing opportunities.

• The federal and state governments need to increase their funding for transportation, particularly for mass transit systems.

Other keynote speakers at this AGA conference besides Mayor Euille were David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, and John Hamre, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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