By USCM Staff
March 8, 2010

Conference President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz led a bipartisan delegation of more than thirty mayors during the two-day Conference of Mayors Winter Leadership Meeting February 24-25 in meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to encourage them to put aside partisan differences and quickly pass a comprehensive jobs bill that puts Americans back to work and invests in MainSreet metropolitan economies, where joblessness is concentrated.

The mayors also spent extensive effort pushing for a second year of funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). The block grant was authorized at $2 billion annually for five years, but the Administration’s budget for FY 2011 contains no funding for this Conference of Mayors priority.

In a press conference prior to their Hill meetings, mayors highlighted the growing unemployment numbers in their individual cities – 13.5 percent in Los Angels; 10.6 percent in Philadelphia; 14.9 percent in Providence, and 13 percent in Trenton – and pressed for a sense of urgency on Capitol Hill.

In her remarks, Kautz stressed that the unemployment figures in cities are more than just numbers. “Mayors deal face-to-face with unemployed citizens because we see these people everywhere – in coffee shops, grocery stores, beauty salons and barber shops. And they all tell us the same thing – all they want is a good, dependable job so they can support their families.”

“These unemployment rates will continue to plague our cities for years to come if we don’t act now,” she continued, citing economic forecasts by Global Insight that show by 2011, over 100 metropolitan areas will still have an unemployment rate higher than ten percent.

A Global Insight report commissioned by the Conference of Mayors also shows that unless more aggressive action is taken to create jobs, by the end of 2011 the Los Angeles metro area (39 percent of California’s economy) is projected to have a 9.6 percent unemployment rate; Providence metro area (47 percent of Rhode Island’s economy) is projected to have an 11.4 percent unemployment rate; and Akron (28 percent of Ohio’s economy) will have an 11.1 percent unemployment rate.

“These projections are extremely sobering and give us grave concern for the unemployed,” commented Kautz. “Mayors are holding the nation together by making impossible decisions everyday, and we have made cuts to the point where only bone is left. This year will be one of the toughest for local budgets with cities facing severe shortfalls and even more employee layoffs.”

Conference of Mayors Past President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer echoed Kautz’s comments saying, “The nation’s mayors are here today in Washington to say to Congress ‘we are here to help you.’ Polling data shows that the majority of American people have more faith in the nation’s mayors and local government than they do in the federal government. So, we want Congressional members to understand as they make references to MainStreet that mayors are MainStreet. We live this every single day.”

Schenectady (NY) Mayor Brian Stratton agreed, saying, “We are here to appeal to Congress for a comprehensive jobs bill. A lot of the infrastructure in Schenectady was funded with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds in the 1930’s and you can see the WPA stamps in many of our sidewalks, parks and pools. This is the type of commitment we need from Congress for America’s cities – this kind of significant investment that will give us the funding we need to reinvest in our cities and in our crumbling infrastructure.”

Last month, more than 200 of the nation’s mayors came to Washington (DC) to advocate their 2010 Metro Agenda for America as a means to job creation. The Metro Agenda prioritizes direct fiscal assistance to cities, block grants for green jobs, investments in neighborhoods through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), COPS grants for public safety jobs, summer jobs for young people and targeted transportation projects for infrastructure jobs.

The House passed a jobs bill last December that includes many of the Metro Agenda priorities, and the Conference of Mayors is calling on the Senate to act on a broad jobs package. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett stressed, “I think what mayors are looking for out of Congress is action. The inaction in Washington is something that our people are seeing every day, and it is not acceptable. It can be bipartisan; it can be non-partisan, but things need to happen. The people are demanding it and we are hearing it.”

Cornett continued, “Our history has shown that when federal programs that have good intensions go through the states, the money does not find its way to local and city governments.”

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter further stressed the point, saying, “Congress needs to stop messing around. The American people are suffering from a gunshot wound to the heart while Congress is arguing over the size of the band-aid. Cities are bleeding red ink and running deficits. Tax revenues are down and we are laying off employees and cutting services. We really need targeted aid to cities and revenue sharing using current formulas.”

Conference of Mayors Vice President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke about what is happening in his city. “Like other cities around the country, Los Angeles is experiencing its own financial difficulties and like families all over America, we have been forced to refocus our priorities and make difficult decisions, including laying people off. These are not easy decisions, but they are necessary to restore the city’s financial health.”

Over the course of the two-day meeting, the mayors blanketed Capitol Hill pushing for action on jobs legislation.

Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Senator Mark Begich (AK) hosted a meeting for the entire delegation to discuss Senate plans to move five separate jobs bills. Begich, who has been fighting for more direct funding for cities, assured the mayors that their message of state delays and city neglect is starting to resonate with Senators, and he urged the mayors to keep up their pressure.

The Conference of Mayors delegation also met with Representative Chaka Fattah (PA), who chairs the Congressional Urban Caucus and is a key member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee. Fattah pledged to continue his fight to secure annual funding for the Energy Block Grant, and to push the Energy Department to speed up the flow of existing funding to cities.

Fattah also briefed the mayors on legislation being drafted by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (CA) to provide cities and counties with direct fiscal assistance to save and create jobs. A smaller group of mayors met directly with Miller on the bill, which Conference of Mayors has been working on with committee staff for several months and has recently endorsed. The bill will be introduced within the next several weeks – and passage will be a major priority for the Conference of Mayors.

Additional Conference of Mayors meetings included Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Senators Mark Pryor (AR) and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY).

Addressing the mayors during the leadership meeting, COPS Office Director Bernard Melekian commented that for too long law enforcement has been siloed off and suggested instead that police departments should be involved in all aspects of city government. He indicated that to help achieve this he will focus some of the COPS Office’s training activities on police department middle managers in an effort to encourage them to work with counterparts in other city government agencies. He suggested further that he would like to move from community policing to community government.

Melekian also said he wants to begin a discussion of values-based policing, in which the foundational question in line officers’ minds changes from “can I do this?” to “should I do this?” and suggested that values-based policing could revolutionize policing in the same way community policing did.

Regarding COPS Hiring Grants, Melekian indicated that the solicitation for FY 2010 funds ($298 million) should be out in the next few weeks. He mentioned that the President’s budget proposes $600 million for hiring grants in FY 2011 and reinforced the Administration’s commitment to providing funding for 50,000 officers, commenting that the Attorney General has told him to tell law enforcement and political leaders that the COPS Office is “back in the game.”

Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Karen Mills was the final speaker of the Leadership Meeting. She noted the common goals of cities and the SBA, saying, “Small businesses are the lifeblood of local and regional economies.” Mills added that, “Sixty-five percent of jobs are created by small businesses and half the people who work either own or work for a small business.” Therefore, she asserted, “If we are going to get the economies in your cities growing again, it is going to be because we (SBA) give them the tools they need to prosper and create jobs.”

Mills said that there are two types of small businesses: main street businesses (car repair and restaurants for example) and high growth, high impact businesses. SBA has helped main street businesses since its creation in 1953. With an average age of 24 years and found in every industry, high growth, high impact businesses create most of the jobs.

SBA assists these businesses (main street and high growth, high impact) by providing access to credit through a loan portfolio of $90 billion. There are also 14,000 affiliated counselors in community colleges. Retired business executives also provide counseling. In addition, SBA also has a force of 2,000 people who help following disasters with home, business and business interruption loans.

The Administrator said that access to credit for small businesses has stalled. “But last year, the problem was worse,” she added. Through SBA programs, things have improved but that the funds to provide help will run out soon. Congress is aware of this and will renew funds through September, but it will not be enough. There still will be a credit crunch. Banks don’t have the capital, and those banks with capital don’t want to take the risk. The Obama Administration has responded, Mills said, “with $30 billion in capital that will be provided through community banks.” For those banks that don’t want to take on risk, she said that, “SBA will take on 90 percent of the risk.” In addition, Congress is being asked to raise the cap on business loans from $2,000 to $5,000. And on micro loans, the request is to raise the cap from $35,000 to $50,000. Through the SBA Express, it is proposed that there be a temporary increase from $350,000 to $1 million for small businesses in need of more working capital.

USCM President Elizabeth B. Kautz, Burnsville, MN

USCM Vice President Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles, CA

Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City, UT

J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth, NJ

James Brainard, Carmel, IN

Christopher Cabaldon, West Sacramento, CA

David Cicilline, Providence, RI

Robert Cluck, Arlington, TX

Michael Coleman, Columbus, OH

Joy Cooper, Hallandale Beach, FL

Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City, OK

Frank Cownie, Des Moines, IA

Robert Duffy, Rochester, NY

Bill Finch, Bridgeport, CT

Michael Gin, Redondo Beach, CA

Mufi Hannemann, Honolulu, HI

Patrick Hays, North Little Rock, AR

Darwin Hindman, Columbia, MO

Jennifer Hosterman, Pleasanton, CA

Harvey Johnson, Jr., Jackson, MS

Ron Littlefield, Chattanooga, TN

Mark Mallory, Cincinnati, OH

Arlene Mulder, Arlington Heights, IL

Michael Nutter, Philadelphia, PA

Frank Ortis, Pembroke Pines, FL

Douglas H. Palmer, Trenton, NJ

Donald L. Plusquellic, Akron, OH

David Pope, Oak Park, IL

Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, CA

James Schmitt, Green Bay, WI

Brian Stratton, Schenectady, NY

Brian Wahler, Piscataway, NJ

Elaine Walker, Bowling Green, KY