By Larry Jones
June 28, 2010

Des Moines Mayor Franklin T.M. Cownie, Chairman of the Metro Economies Committee, welcomed mayors to the June 12 meeting where mayors were provided an update on Build America Bonds, the 2010 Census and the Local Jobs for America Act. The committee also considered and adopted 12 resolutions.

Carmel (IN) Mayor James Brainard told mayors that the Build America Bonds program was approved in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help state and local governments fund infrastructure projects. Under the program, the federal government pays the city 35 percent of the borrowing cost associated with the bonds. He said the program is achieving its intended purpose—widening the group of people who buy municipal bonds which are issued by local governments to raise capital to build hospitals, schools, public safety facilities, courthouses and public utilities. By all accounts, this program has been very successful. Since it's inception, state and local governments have issued over $100 billion in BAB on a variety of infrastructure projects. He encouraged mayors who are not familiar with the program to take the time to become familiar because it provides a great benefit to cities as well as investors.

Dr. Robert Groves, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, thanked mayors for their support in urging citizens to complete and return their census forms. He said the mail-back participation rate was very successful in that the Bureau matched the 72 percent rate set for the 2000 census, which very few expected would happen. Because the mail participation was so successful in the first half of the census, Groves said fewer census workers are needed to do door follow up. This will save a lot of money in staff cost and as a result, the Bureau is planning to return a substantial amount of money to the federal treasury. He also explained that because so many people are unemployed, the Bureau was able to hire smarter and more experienced workers who are completing the work in a more timely manner.

With the mail back portion of the census complete, Groves said 550,000 census workers are now knocking on 47 million doors of households who did not return the census questionnaire. He outlined a number of additional steps the Bureau plans to take between now and December 31 when the Bureau is required to submit the 2010 census to the President. The new census data will be used to determine how many House seats each state will receive as well as how over $400 billion in federal aid will be distributed annually. He told mayors that at the end of March 2011, cities will receive census data down to the block level, including race, ethnicity and other important demographics. Also, the Bureau will provide mayors a demographic profile of their cities that is unique for each city.

Dr. Gordon Lafer, Senior Labor Policy Advisor to the House Education and Labor Committee, told mayors that the committee reached out to the Conference of Mayors and other local group in putting together the Local Jobs for America Act, legislation that will provide $75 billion to help local governments retain critical workers over the next two years. He said the committee understands that cities are facing budget shortfalls and need help. A lot of thought went into developing the legislation and from the committee's perspective, the bill provides the fastest, cheapest, most effective and the most fiscally responsible way to put people back to work.

He said the bill is expected to support a million jobs mostly in local governments and there would be between 100,000 and 200,000 jobs created in the private sector by the multiplier effect of having more people at work in local governments. He also cited a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute that says the bill will save the federal government an estimated $40 billion in lower spending on safety net programs such as unemployment benefits, COBRA health insurance benefits and food stamps.

Lafer told mayors that the bill still has a good chance of passing particularly if unemployment begins to rise again and members of Congress can be convinced that it is politically more important to create jobs to boost economic growth. He also noted that Senators Sherrod Brown (OH), Al Franken (MN) and Mark Begich (AK) plan to introduce the Local Jobs for America Act in the Senate soon.

• Creating Jobs and Reducing High Unemployment in Metro Areas — urges Congress and the President to pass the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812), which will provide $75 billion in direct aid to local governments over the next two years to help them retain critical workers who would otherwise be laid off due to budget shortfalls.

• Creation of a National Economic Restoration and Countercyclical Program — urges Congress to create a countercyclical program that would automatically make funds available to metro areas or select jurisdictions that are in recession or experiencing persistently high rates of unemployment.

• Direct Federal Financial Assistance to Cities — urges Congress to develop a program that provides direct financial assistance to cities based on defined criteria such as the extent to which cities- revenues have contracted since 2008.

• Opposing Efforts to Limit Local Collection of Hotel Occupancy Taxes — urges Congress to oppose any legislation that would grant online travel companies a tax exemption that terminates their existing obligations to pay hotel taxes to state and local governments or that would restrict legal actions filed by them.

• Support of Financial Planning Clinics for Retirement and Financial Literacy — urges Congress to adopt a budget resolution to support the creation of financial planning clinics to be held once a year in October in various cities across America.

• Supporting Financial Prescription for Energy Retrofits of Existing Buildings — calls on state legislatures that have not already done so to adopt enabling legislation to allow Energy Financing Districts to be establish in their states as a means of financing the retrofitting of existing buildings.

• Expand Existing Means of Leveraging local Revenues for Constructing Transit Projects that Address Congestion and Air Quality Issues — urges Congress to expand existing means of leveraging local revenues for constructing transit projects that address congestion and air quality.

• Support the Creation of Special Purpose Corporations Owned by Municipal Governments — urges Congress to amend the tax code to encourage state legislatures to adopt legislation that would allow municipalities to create special purpose corporations for purposes of owning and operating its water and wastewater and systems.

• Regional Innovation Clusters to Strengthen Competitiveness and Productivity of Regional Economies — urges support for full funding of the Regional Innovation Clusters as proposed in the Administration's 2011 budget, and urges Congress to reauthorize the America COMPETES legislation.

• Increase Funding for the EPA Climate Showcase Grants for Local Governments — calls on Congress and the Administration to support increased funding for the Climate Showcase Communities program in Fiscal Year 2011 and future years.

• Designating Waters of the United States — opposes legislation to expand federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act; supports a directive that the EPA should conduct an analysis of every regulation proposed under the Clean Water Act to determine the cost before it is promulgated and secure Congressional appropriations to be disbursed directly to state and local government to pay for the costs imposed by any regulation.

• Aligning Federal Policy on Floodplain Management, Climate Change, and Sustainable Communities — urges the President to align federal policy on floodplain management with the Administration's policy initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainable Communities.