U.S. Cities Report Least Optimism About Finances Since 2012
- Survey finds those seeing improvement falls to five-year low
- Results ‘point to the potential start of a contraction’
Amtrak locomotives sit parked at the 18th Street locomotive shop as the Willis Tower stands in the skyline of Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThe financial gains for U.S. cities are showing signs of slowing, with the number reporting improvement dropping to a five-year low as revenue growth slows and they face pressure to spend more on infrastructure, according to a National League of Cities’ annual survey.
City general-fund revenues are projected to increase by just 0.9 percent this year, compared with 2.6 percent in 2016, as property-tax growth slows and sales and income-tax collections drop, the report said. The share of cities reporting that they’re more able to meet their financial obligations than they were a year ago slipped to 69 percent, the least since 2012, when many were still contending with some of the fiscal aftermath of the housing crash and recession.