By Dave Gatton and Carolyn Merryweather
February 9, 2004

The Council for the New American City met at the 72nd Winter Meeting of the Conference of Mayors on January 22. Attendees included mayors from across the country as well as representatives from all members of the Council and the Department of Commerce. The meeting focused on the nation's economy, job market, financial literacy, and promotion of America's cities.

"Since its inception, the goal of the Council has been to promote investment and innovative thinking in American cities. Most importantly, we want to promote to the public and to the business community that cities are new, not old," Council Chair Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick told Council Attendees.

To show how the Council's Metro Economy reports have helped to promote cities, Gary Mayor Scott L. King spoke about how he and other Indiana mayors used the Indiana Metro Economy Report put out by the Council last June. "The report showed statistically what we had all known anecdotally for years — that Indiana's metro areas made up 78 percent of the state's jobs 95 percent of its financial activities, and 78 percent of its population." King urged other mayors to pursue state Metro Economy Reports of their own, and to use the data in the National Gross Metropolitan Product report annually published by the Council to demonstrate to their state and federal lawmakers how important their cities are to the state's economy.

Brett Palmer, Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of Commerce spoke about the new manufacturing report published in January by the Department of Commerce. The report deals with the domestic and international economic environment that American businesses face. It also gives an overview of policy recommendations by the Bush Administration aimed towards helping government ensure that it is helping U.S. manufacturers maximize their competitiveness.

Palmer answered questions from a number of different Council members, including U.S. Filter/Veolia Water President and CEO, Mike Stark. Stark spoke about the benefits to cities and businesses of engaging in public/private partnerships and the ways US Filter/Veolia Water has helped different cities across the country save money on the water and wastewater treatment facilities.

David Dworkin of Fannie Mae also spoke about partnerships between cities and local businesses. Employer Assisted Housing (EAH), a program in which employers help their employees buy homes close to their jobs, was the first program to be featured in the Council's "Metro Strategies" series. EAH can be financial, in the form of a grant or loan to the employee, or educational, in the form of financial education courses. "EAH benefits encourage employees to live in revitalization areas, help reduce commute times, and encourage more city employees to live within city limits, becoming city taxpayers," Dworkin told the Council.

Cindy Stewart of the International Council of Shopping Centers also spoke about investment in U.S. cities. She encouraged mayors to attend the ICSC Spring Convention in Las Vegas from May 23-26. "This is an opportunity for you to attract developers and retailers to your cities," she said.

Lisa Blackwell from the National Multi Housing Coalition talked about a different way to develop cities — multi-family housing. Blackwell spoke about the continuing need for multi-family housing in cities across the country, and about how multi-family housing can help to revitalize neighborhoods.

Robert M. Couch, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, also spoke about investing in the nation's communities. Couch outlined a new program MBA is working on with the Council which will provide free training classes on mortgage finance to minorities. After completing three of these classes, a person is guaranteed a job interview in the field of mortgage finance.

To help mayors educate their citizens about financial issues, Rebecca Stiehl from the InCharge Institute Education Foundation spoke to the Council about the importance of financial literacy. The Council plans to unveil a new financial literacy program in the Spring, which all Council members will participate in.

Also on the subject of financial literacy, Andre Lewis from the Nehemiah Corporation of America, spoke about wealth creation through homeownership. Lewis told the mayors that providing financial literacy programs in their cities could help potential homebuyers learn financial skills necessary to buy their first homes and invest in their communities.

David Lereah of the National Association of Realtors announced a new program the NAR is rolling out to help connect mayors and realtors. The Ambassadors Program with serve to strengthen ties between mayors and realtors in order to attract and welcome new residents into their cities. NAR President Walt McDonald addressed the Conference's Opening Plenary session on the Ambassador's Program the previous day.

Dan Wilson from the American Institute of Architects spoke to the mayors about the importance of design in helping to revitalize and invigorate cities. "You have all seen the impact design can have on your cities," he told the mayors, and urged them to look into innovative design programs and ideas.