By Larry Jones
March 22, 2010

Conference President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz told county officials from the nation’s 100 largest counties that cities and urban counties are the heart of metro economies, which "are the engines of our nation’s future economic growth," as she addressed members of the National Association of Counties Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) during their annual legislative meeting in Washington (DC) on March 8. "By working together, cities and large urban counties can be a powerful political force," she said.

Citing recent reports on the importance of the nation’s 363 metro economies, Kautz explained that these metro areas generate 90 percent of the nation’s goods and services, 90 percent of the wage and salary income and 86 percent of the jobs. "The message is clear, we can not have a strong economic recovery and future, without strong, globally competitive cities and urban counties," she said.

Because metro economies are so significant, Kautz pointed out that city and county leaders within those areas must rise to a new way of thinking about their potential for power and influence. She believes when mayors and large urban county officials work together, they can have a strong voice in influencing federal legislation and policy that affects the lives of people residing in metro areas. Three policy areas were mentioned that she would like to see mayors and LUCC officials come together on: transportation reform, a new jobs bill and the Federal Communications Commissions’ National Broad band Plan.

Kautz told LUCC members that the nation’s transportation system, which is heavily influenced by state highway departments and asphalt interest, is desperately in need of reform. She emphasized the need for working together to create a 21st Century transportation system that features high'speed rail, an ultra-modern transit system, and sophisticated rails with intermodal connections among ports. To achieve this, Kautz said funds and decision-making must be given back to where they belong – at the local and metro level. To meet the needs of the people, she said reform must begin by evaluating "how funds are being distributed to achieve goals like reduction of traffic congestion and carbon emissions, as well as retaining, growing and attracting jobs."

On the jobs bill, Kautz pointed out that while the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is important in that it provided assistance to address the recession, funding was misdirected to states who were slow to spend it or unwilling to direct it to metro areas where most of the unemployed people reside. Citing a recent Conference of Mayors report, she said without additional federal support, metro areas would continue to experience high levels of unemployment. The report estimates that by the end of 2011, 105 metro areas will still have unemployment rates of ten percent or higher. She called on county officials to work with mayors to pass legislation sponsored by House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller, which will provide direct assistance to cities and counties to help them save and create new jobs.

Kautz also urged county officials to work with mayors to oppose efforts by the powerful communications lobby and the FCC staff to limit local government authority over rights-of-way fees. She explained that the FCC is planning to submit the National Broadband Plan to Congress soon which may include a recommendation mandating that local governments accept less than the fair market value for use of the public rights-of-way. "If we lose this authority, we will lose a great deal. Our traditional jurisdiction and local budgets will be undermined," she said.

White House Director of Urban Affairs Adolfo Carrion and Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Michael Blake also addressed members of LUCC. Both discussed the progress the nation has experienced under the Obama Administration. In summary, Carrion said when the President took office in January 2009, he inherited a lot of major problems: the financial system was on the verge of collapse hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost each month, rapidly driving up the unemployment rate; dependence on foreign oil was unsustainable; the health care system was broken with over 30 million people uninsured; and the education system was not preparing American children with the 21st Century education they need to be competitive in tomorrow’s market place.

In just a little over a year, the financial crisis has been stabilized, the number of job losses has declined significantly, the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has created over a million jobs, and Congress is soon expected to pass health care reform legislation. Additionally, significant investments have been made in education, and other vital areas. Carrion told county officials that the Administration will continue to work to strengthen urban economies and that he has been traveling to local areas across the nation to identify innovative approaches to address urban issues.

Blake thanked members of LUCC for working with the Administration on health care reform and pledged that, "We won’t stop until there is affordable health care for all Americans." He also spoke about the Administration’s Race to the Top education reform program that provides competitive grants to state and local areas to encourage innovations and improvements in education. He said the Administration wants to build a strong education system that will take each child from the cradle to careers in the work force. By the year 2020, he said the goal is for America to have the highest level of college graduates in the world.