By Paul Leroux and Conference of Mayors Staff
August 6, 2012

Asserting their voice in the 2012 election debate, almost 50 mayors traveled to Philadelphia for the 2012 Summer Leadership Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Hosted by Conference of Mayors President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, the mayors engaged in two days of dialogue, both with each other and with national experts.

To kick off the discussions, the Conference of Mayors released a new Metro Economy report, prepared by IHS Global, which found the nation needs to dramatically increase its investment in transportation infrastructure in order to take advantage of international trade opportunities over the next decade. It also found that U.S. metros would absorb an additional 84 million people over the next 30 years, further citing the need for increased investment in infrastructure.

During an opening press conference, Nutter said, “The importance of cities and their metropolitan economies cannot be overstated. Cities are pushing the economic recovery of this country forward and we are key to the future growth of America… We are calling for smart investments today, particularly by modernizing our transportation infrastructure, to ensure that cities will grow in the future and pay dividends for decades to come. We also want to remind Congress, both presidential candidates, and Washington in general that when you invest in cities, you invest in the recovery of America, and you put Americans back to work.”

This sentiment was echoed by Conference of Mayors Vice President Mesa Mayor Scott Smith who said, “Cities have dealt with the most serious financial crisis since the great depression in a way that no other level of government has. And while we are on the road to recovery, our call is to do what we have done in the past and commit resources to the next generation. My parents, grandparents and great grandparents invested in America so that we could benefit from the economic prosperity we now enjoy. The question now is – are we [in this generation] going to invest in our country so that our children can enjoy economic prosperity in the future?”

Conference of Mayors Second Vice President Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson expanded the traditional notion of “infrastructure” to include America's young people. “Our country's most valuable resource is our children, and the investment that can make the biggest difference is in their education. We must make sure that we are doing everything we can to prepare our children to compete in the global workforce,” he said.

Election 2012 Bi-Partisan Agenda

The mayors in Philadelphia devoted a significant amount of time to working on the “Building a Better America” Agenda, which outlines the key priorities of metro areas in the 2012 election. The bipartisan agenda, when released, will demonstrate a uniform and substantive way that mayors and cities can hold national candidates accountable.

The draft document calls for greater commitments to key infrastructure investments and critical reforms that generate easier access for metro areas and their residents. It represents a critical step between adopted policies of Conference of Mayors and decisive action at the federal level.

Going into the meeting, mayors worked with Conference of Mayors staff on their areas of leadership, identifying sectors they believed the United States can no longer afford to not invest in. Priority areas identified in the first draft of the paper include: Surface Transportation; Exports, Advance Manufacturing, and Small Business; Investing in the American Workforce; Safe Cities; Energy Independence and Jobs; Safe and Affordable Water and Wastewater Systems; Community Development and Housing; Innovation in Cities and Access to Technology; Local Food Economies; and Tax Reform.

Following the extensive discussions in Philadelphia, Nutter and Smith are now working with Conference of Mayors staff to help focus and finalize the “Building a Better America” Agenda so it can be presented to both President Obama and Governor Romney upon its release in the coming weeks.

Presidential Campaigns Dialogue with Mayors

Representatives of both major presidential campaigns were on hand in Philadelphia for the Leadership Meeting, outlining competing visions of the next four years, and what those would mean for local governments. Patrick Gaspard, Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee, participated on behalf of President Obama's reelection campaign. Gaspard spoke of many of the efforts that the Obama administration has undertaken to assist cities and make partnerships between levels of government. But he stressed that the President would need four more years to see all of these efforts to fruition. Gaspard spoke to the mayors with the experience of his own service both in the Obama administration and in the office of then-Mayor David Dinkins in New York.

Alan Novak, former Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania, spoke on behalf of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Novak reiterated the points that former Senator Norm Coleman made on behalf of Romney during the Orlando Annual Meeting in June – that a Romney administration would mean more jobs for cities, and give local government more control. Novak spoke his experiences both as a party official and as a government affairs strategist.

Avoiding the “Fiscal Cliff”

Ellen Nissenbaum, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, provided the mayors with a bleak but educational overview of the fiscal situation facing the United States in the next year.

According to Nissenbaum and the CBPP, at the end of 2012, the U.S. faces a five-part budget situation known as the “fiscal cliff.” The Bush tax cuts are set to expire, as are the Obama tax cuts for low-income working families. A deal reached to avoid defaulting last summer means across-the-board spending cuts in defense and non-defense programs will kick in, at the same as we hit yet another debt ceiling limit. And finally, Medicare payments to physicians will be cut by 31 percent.

Although most of these circumstances are up to Congress and the Administration to sort out, Nissenbaum urged mayors to take action to protect cities. She warned that direct spending cuts and cost shifts could be particularly damaging to local governments.

Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran told the assembled mayors that action would be required in the coming months to address the fiscal cliff, with mayors needed in Washington immediately following the election.

Education Reform: Won't Back Down

Nutter, Johnson – who is also Chair of the Education Reform Task Force – and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch participated in a panel discussion on the state of the public education system and its impact on disadvantaged communities during the Summer Leadership Meeting. The panel was held in conjunction with a screening of the film “Won't Back Down,” inspired by the impact of key education reforms, including parent trigger policies, taking shape across the country.

The mayors were joined by education advocates Michelle Rhee, founder and CEO of StudentsFirst; Ben Austin, Executive Director of Parent Revolution; Dr. Lori Shorr, Executive Advisor to the Philadelphia Public School District; and Mark Johnson, the film's producer.

“I believe education is the most important issue of our generation,” said Nutter. “It has the power to provide a vehicle out of poverty as well as bring children a step closer to grasping a piece of the American Dream. This year – as shown through our adopted resolutions – the leadership of the Conference has placed a high priority on ensuring every child is in a high quality seat in a top performing school.”

Johnson, a long-time advocate for education reform, echoed Nutter's sentiments. “We are too great of a nation not to guarantee that every child, no matter their ZIP code, has an effective teacher in the classroom and quality school options available,” Johnson said. “To ensure this, leaders on both sides of the aisle must work to put in place policies that stand up to the status quo, and put our children first.” Finch, whose own state this year passed transformative education reforms – including measures to help turn around the state's worst-performing schools – said every child can achieve at a high level. “The parents of Connecticut made their voices heard and forced the legislature to focus on the interests of children instead of those of the special interests,” Finch said. “Though “Won't Back Down” is just a film, the resolve of the parents shown is a direct portrayal of the tenacity of the parents in my own city who demand change.”

“Won't Back Down” was inspired by the impact of key education reforms, including the parent trigger. A single mother portrayed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and a teacher portrayed by Viola Davis organize parents to take control of their failing school in the face of aggressive efforts by those fighting to preserve the status quo.

Advanced Manufacturing: Great Potential, Workforce Challenges

Advanced manufacturing, broadly defined as the improvement of manufacturing processes and products through the use of advanced technology, is seen increasingly as an integral and essential element in the nation's economic recovery and in its ability to compete globally. A panel presentation on the topic was designed to give mayors a better understanding of how the potential held by advanced manufacturing can be realized in their cities – if barriers to progress can be overcome.

Representative Chaka Fattah (PA) said that while the U.S. has seen the loss of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs over the past years, the situation is beginning to turn around. Through the Advanced Manufacturing initiative launched last year by the Administration, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been invested in Philadelphia and in other cities, Fattah said, and $128 million now is being used to fund a hands-on partnership program that helps small and medium'size manufacturers.

Of particular interest, said Fattah, is the National Innovation Marketplace established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to link manufacturers to technology and business opportunities that lead to the new markets and new products needed for success in the global marketplace.

NIST Director Dr. Patrick Gallagher said it was helpful to think of advanced manufacturing as part of R&D, of technology transfer, and of supply chains. Gallagher explained that 70 percent of the R&D investments in the U.S. are made by the private sector. The proportionately smaller public investments, he said, must be made in the areas having the greatest potential to benefit manufacturers.

Panelist Bill Hunt of Agusta Aerospace Corporation, a Philadelphia-based helicopter manufacturer, described how his company had successfully expanded its operations over the years with the help of the city, and how each expansion had brought more advanced technology to the manufacture of their highly-technical products. And Ron Harwood of Intellistreets said that the skilled worker shortage in manufacturing is made worse by the fact that half of the students are from other countries, and “we can't keep them in the U.S. when they graduate.”

Manufacturing Institute Vice President Gardner Carrick reported on a skills gap analysis that found about 80 percent of manufacturers having difficulty finding skilled workers. One of the problems, he said, is that there is no clear education or training pathway that students can follow into manufacturing jobs. This, in combination with negative reports on manufacturing in the news media, has resulted in manufacturing being “dead last” as a career option.

Dr. Tom Peterson, Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation, recommended that mayors wanting to promote advanced manufacturing work closely with the universities in their areas. “They are the innovators that can add to economic development” in cities, he said.

The Philadelphia panel was moderated by Marek Gootman, Director of Strategic Partnerships in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.

Pension Reform

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer led the discussion on pension reform, reminding mayors that earlier this year as Chair of the Metro Economies Committee he asked Conference of Mayors staff to survey cities to get a feel for both the problems they are experiencing with their pension plans and how they are responding. The report, released this past June in Orlando, revealed that local pension plans lost much of their value due to the declining stock market and the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, causing an increase in unfunded pension liabilities.

In response, cities are increasing annual contributions, eliminating benefit increases for current employees and offering fewer benefits to new employees, offering new employees define contribution instead of define benefit plans, lowering cost of living increases for current employees and retirees, increasing the retirement age and service requirements.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake told mayors that her city faced enormous fiscal stress, which led her to push through pension reforms for police and fire department employees. The cost of pension benefits grew from $50 million in 2003 to $125 million in 2010, with police and fire accounting for about $65 million of the increase. She said everyone agreed the city could not support this level of increase in benefits, but employees should be provided benefits that the city could afford. She said the city adopted reforms that included an increase in employee contributions, changes in the cost of living increase, and an increase in service years from 20 to 25 to qualify for retirement. These changes will save an estimated to save $800 million over the next decade.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed explained that voters in his city approved a ballot measure to help control rising retirement costs. The measure was approved by almost 70 percent of the vote on June 5. He said the measure was successful because voters were presented a clear choice in addressing skyrocketing retirement costs – either cut services or the cost of services. For employees it was either cut employees- pay, layoff more workers or ask employees to contribute more for their benefits. Under the measure, new employees will be placed in a new, lower cost plan; current employees will retain the benefits they have earned but looking forward, they will have the option of either paying more to keep their current plan or choosing a new, lower cost plan.

Reed thanked the Conference of Mayors for adopting a resolution endorsing San Jose's pension reforms at the June Annual Meeting. The resolution urges the U.S. Treasury Department to issue the necessary letter ruling, and urges Congress to pass any necessary legislation to give local governments the option of offering their employees lower cost benefits.

Preserving the Safety Net

A session moderated Frazierita Klasen, Director of the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services, provided a framework that cities can use when connecting residents to needed services.

Hiram Carmona, Manager of Housing Counseling for Philadelphia, described the city's Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program, which “offers homeowners who are facing foreclosure the opportunity to meet with their lender in order to negotiate an alternative to foreclosure…”

Carmona said that homeowners who have defaulted received notice from the court describing the foreclosure prevention program. Pro bono attorneys and city-funded legal assistance are made available, and housing counseling agencies – of which Philadelphia has 27 – help the homeowners prepare a proposal to resolve the mortgage default in an affordable and realistic way. Carmona said that Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding of $3 million is used to run the prevention foreclosure program.

Of the 19,000 homeowners eligible for the program between June 2008 and May 2012, 13,000 participated, with nearly 5,000 saving their homes and another 5,000 still in the process of trying to save their homes; 3,100 homeowners did not save their homes which went to Sheriff sale. A number of reasons can be attributed to the 6,400 homeowners who did not participate in the program: properties were vacant, properties were not owner-occupied or owner-occupants failed to appear at their first conference.

Ginger Zielinskie, Executive Director, Benefits Data Trust (BDT), presented on “BenePhilly Enrollment Center,” which helps low-income older Philadelphians access federal and state benefit programs food, shelter and health care. The Center utilizes BDT's data driven, public/private partnership model to secure an estimated $54 million in benefits to low-income seniors.

Zielinskie stated that BDT relies on six major program strategies to accomplish its mission including key stakeholder partnerships; target identification; effective outreach; follow-up and submission; and evaluation. The partnerships with state, local, federal and private agencies provides BDT will access to value data in order to identify and target low-income seniors who are eligible for low income programs but are currently enrolled. By identifying individuals who are eligible for at least one public benefit, the program implement a strategy outreach model to inform the seniors of other benefits to which they may be entitled. Through the outreach process, the seniors receive a letter from the mayor alerting them to benefits they may qualify for and directing them to the proper assistance needed to complete the application process.

Once seniors are identified, the highly trained staff begins the process of following up and assisting with the application process and submission. Then finally, through BDT's customized database they can manage every step of the enrollment model to evaluate the programs effectiveness and efficiencies as well as identify any barriers or areas in need of improvement. The Philadelphia BenePhilly program, which is a joint initiative of the city, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and other non-profits, has identified that on average Philadelphia seniors qualify for about $1,700 in annual benefits.

Greenworks Philadelphia

Philadelphia Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski described the sustainability plan that aims to make Philadelphia one of the greenest cities in the nation. The plan, which is known as Greenworks Philadelphia, is designed around five areas: Energy, Environment, Equity, Economy, and Engagement. Gajewski reported that since implementation in 2009, energy use has been reduced by five percent, curbside recycling has increased, water and wastewater infrastructure systems have been improved, and many other successful actions have contributed to the meaningful progress of their plan.

The mayors also heard from Maitreyi Roy, Senior Vice President for Programs and Planning for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, who stressed the need to connect horticulture activity to the quality of life in cities, specifically linking community gardens and food farms to citizens.

Sven Hackmann, Vice President for U.S. Cities Initiatives for Siemens Corporation, emphasized the strong role that public-private partnerships can play with implementing city sustainability plans. He noted that Siemens remains committed to their work with making cities more green and energy efficient and that they stand ready to lend their expertise to assist cities with their sustainability efforts.

Participating Mayors

Michael A. Nutter, Philadelphia, PA, President
Scott Smith, Mesa, AZ, Vice President
Kevin Johnson, Sacramento, CA, 2nd Vice President
Gregory A. Ballard, Indianapolis, IN
Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City, UT
Stephen Benjamin, Columbia, SC
Michael Bissonnette, Chicopee, MA
J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth, NJ
James Brainard, Carmel, IN
Alvin Brown, Jacksonville, FL
Christopher Cabaldon, West Sacramento, CA
Robert Cluck, Arlington, TX
Michael Coleman, Columbus, OH
Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City, OK
T. M. Franklin Cownie, Des Moines, IA
John Dickert, Racine, WI
Buddy Dyer, Orlando, FL
Bill Finch, Bridgeport, CT
Greg Fischer, Louisville, KY
Anthony Foxx, Charlotte, NC
Mike Gin, Redondo Beach, CA
Carolyn Goodman, Las Vegas, NV
Patrick Henry Hays, North Little Rock, AR
Sly James, Kansas City, MO
Harvey Johnson, Jackson, MS
Edwin Lee, San Francisco, CA
Ron Littlefield, Chattanooga, TN
Mark Mallory, Cincinnati, OH
Joseph McElveen, Sumter, SC
Kim McMillan, Clarksville, TN
Ken Miyagishima, Las Cruces, NM
Gus Morrison, Fremont, CA
Lori C. Moseley, Miramar, FL
Frank C. Ortis, Pembroke Pines, FL
Annise Parker, Houston, TX
Ed Pawlowski, Allentown, PA
Donald L. Plusquellic, Akron, OH
David Pope, Oak Park, IL
Jean Quan, Oakland, CA
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore, MD
Chuck Reed, San Jose, CA
Robert Reichert, Macon, GA
Paul Soglin, Madison, WI
Mark Stodola, Little Rock, AR
Marilyn Strickland, Tacoma, WA
James Suttle, Omaha, NE
Ashley Swearengin, Fresno, CA
Brian Wahler, Piscataway, NJ
Setti Warren, Newton, MA