By Andrew Solomon
May 12, 2003

America's cities have been hard hit by the continuing weak national economy and the costly demands of homeland security, Conference President Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said last week in remarks to a packed ballroom at the National Press Club. He pressed for direct homeland security funding for cities and proposed a national, bipartisan summit to formulate a comprehensive plan for economic revitalization.

"America rallied as one after September 11 and after the decision was made to invade Iraq," Mayor Menino said. "Now, we need the same sense of purpose about putting our neighbors back to work and preventing more of them from receiving pink slips."

He called on President Bush to bring together the leadership of Congress, governors, mayors, business and labor leaders, and university presidents to draft a unified plan for economic revitalization.

"I-m calling on the president to convene a bipartisan economic summit within the next 60 days," said Menino. "Let's come out of it with a unified plan for economic revitalization. Maybe there won-t be full agreement, particularly regarding tax policy. But maybe we can find some common ground on Medicaid relief, on transportation policy, and on research and development initiatives."

Menino also offered specific ideas for creating jobs and spurring economic growth in America's cities, including:

• Direct homeland security funding for cities and their first responders;
• Investing in housing production;
• Offering a flexible and balanced federal transportation program; and
• Targeted tax cuts that would serve as investments in housing, job training, health care, and education.

U.S. metropolitan areas lost nearly 650,000 jobs last year, leading Menino to say, "This isn-t economic recovery. It's economic misery for more and more American families."

Across the country, cities are facing some of their tightest budgets — and most difficult budget choices — in decades. Menino recently submitted a budget with 1700 potential layoffs, on top of a payroll already reduced by 500 positions this year. He said strategic investments by the federal government could help spur job growth in cities.

"I believe the cities can carry our nation back out of recession and back to the prosperity we saw from 1993 to 2001É.[but] Washington can no longer stick its head in the sand and avoid the fiscal plight of the states and, consequently, the cities. One good proposal on the table is the bipartisan Schumer'snowe bill. It provides $20 billion for states and 20 billion for cities to protect us from cuts coming down from the states. I understand there are now several additional proposals for fiscal assistance, so I hope the real action is just around the corner."

On the critical issue of homeland security funding, Menino said cities have footed the bill without receiving sufficient federal help.

"September 11th raised the stakes for all of us. We now have to be prepared for incidents that most Americans never imagined could happen. And many of the elements that make our cities great — historic structures, soaring skyscrapers, accessible harbors — became potential targets for terrorÉMayors responded locally and nationally. We made the increased security commitments that were necessary, because public safety is our highest responsibility. And we paid the cost of additional security because there is no alternativeÉ[Still] most cities have still not received any funding."

A study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors estimated that cities nationwide spent more than $2.6 billion in additional security costs between September 11, 2001 and the end of 2002. Costs have continued to rise dramatically since then — an extra $70 million per week nationwide due to the war and national high threat alert. These additional costs come on top of a recession and continued weak economy that has already severely pinched city budgets.

Menino said he relishes his nickname, "urban mechanic," because "human development, one person, one block, one neighborhood at a time, is what makes a real difference in people's lives. That's what shows people that government can work, and it does work at the local levelÉThe headlines may come out of Washington, but every day, in cities across America, mayors are solving problems and making life a little better for people in their communities."

Audio and text of Mayor Menino's speech are available at usmayors.org.