Government
The Two Approaches to Cutting City Costs
There's a short-term and a long-term approach. Cities tried one, now they're looking to the other.
City governments have had a tough go in recent years. When the housing market crashed, many saw deep cuts to one their main sources of revenue – property taxes. Unemployment, foreclosure and the general decline of the economy has been kicking cities and keeping them down. To counteract these losses, cities across the country have had to make cuts.
Spending has been reduced in a wide variety ways – from cutting infrastructure investments to slashing education budgets to sharply reducing human services programs. One of the main methods by which cities have tried to match their budgets with their means is to cut their own workforces.